LIBRARY 

University  of  California 

IRVINE 


By  ELIE  METCHNIKOFF 

Professor  at  the  Pasteur  Institute 

THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

Studies  in  Optimistic  Philosophy 

Translated  by  P.   CHALMERS  MITCHELL 

8vo.     Illustrated.     Net,  $2.00 


IMMUNITY  IN  INFECTIVE  DISEASES 

Translated  by  FRANCIS  G.  BINNIE 

8vo.    Illustrated.     Net,  $5.25 


M.  €UIE  METCHNIKOFF 


THE 

NATURE   OF   MAN 

STUDIES   IN  OPTIMISTIC 
PHILOSOPHY 


BY 

ELIE    METCHNIKOFF 

PROFESSOR   AT  THE   PASTEUR    INSTITUTE 


THE   ENGLISH    TRANSLATION 

EDITED    BY 

P.    CHALMERS   MITCHELL 

M.A.,  D.Sc.  OXON. 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  ZOOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 
OF   LONDON 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

Cbe  'Knickerbocker  press 
1908 


COPYRIGHT,  1903 

BY 

G.P.PUTNAM'S  SCNS 


Published,  October,  1903 

Reprinted,  November,  1904  ;  January,  1906 

September,  1906  ;  September,  1907 

February,  1908  ;  July,  1908 


EDITOR'S   INTRODUCTION 

WHEN  Pasteur  died  a  remarkable  article  appeared  in  one  of 
the  Paris  newspapers.  The  writer  described  the  intimate 
routine  of  the  life  at  the  Pasteur  Institute,  and  compared  it 
with  that  of  a  mediaeval  religious  community.  A  little  body 
of  men,  forsaking  the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world, 
had  gathered  together  under  the  compulsion  of  a  great  idea. 
They  had  given  up  the  rivalries  and  personal  interests  of 
ordinary  men,  and,  sharing  their  goods  and  their  work,  they 
lived  in  austere  devotion  to  science,  finding  no  sacrifice  of 
health  or  money,  or  of  what  men  call  pleasure,  too  great  for 
the  common  object.  Rumours  of  war  and  peace,  echoes  of 
the  turmoil  of  politics  and  religion,  passed  unheeded  over 
their  monastic  seclusion ;  but  if  there  came  news  of  a  strange 
disease  in  China  or  Peru,  a  scientific  emissary  was  ready  with 
his  microscope  and  his  tubes  to  serve  as  a  missionary  of  the 
new  knowledge  and  the  new  hope  that  Pasteur  had  brought 
to  suffering  humanity.  The  adventurous  exploits  and  the 
patient  vigils  of  this  new  Order  have  brought  about  a  revo- 
lution in  our  knowledge  of  disease,  and  there  seems  no  limit 
to  the  triumphs  that  will  come  from  the  parent  Institute  in 
Paris  and  from  its  many  daughters  in  other  cities. 

Elie  Metchnikoff,  now  Professor  at  the  Pasteur  Institute 
in  Paris,  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  disciples 
who  left  all  else  to  follow  Pasteur.  He  was  born  on  the 
third  (16)  May,  1845,  in  a  village  of  the  Government  of 


iv  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

Kharkoff  (Little  Russia).  He  was  educated  at  the  Gym- 
nasium and  the  University  of  Kharkoff,  passing  through  the 
Faculty  of  Science.  From  1864  to  1870  he  worked  at 
Zoology  at  Giessen,  Gottingen  and  Munich,  successively 
under  three  well-known  zoologists,  Leuckhart,  Henle  and 
Von  Siebold,  and  was  then  appointed  Professor  of  Zoology 
and  Comparative  Anatomy  at  Odessa.  He  made  expedi- 
tions to  Madeira,  Teneriffe  and  the  Kalmuck  Steppes  in 
connection  with  his  zoological  researches.  In  1882,  in  con- 
sequence of  administrative  difficulties,  arising  as  part  of  the 
troubles  that  followed  the  murder  of  the  Tzar,  Alexander 
IL,  he  resigned  the  Professorship  and  became  Director  of 
the  municipal  Bacteriological  Laboratory.  In  1888  he  went 
to  the  Pasteur  Institute,  and  has  remained  there  since  that 
time. 

The  earlier  part  of  Metchnikoff's  career  was  devoted  to 
Zoology,  and  chiefly  to  investigation  of  the  embryological 
history  of  the  lower  invertebrates,  and  the  sequence  of  his 
discoveries  should  afford  food  for  reflection  to  those  Baconian 
economists  who  are  unwilling  to  shelter  any  tree  of  know- 
ledge that  does  not  give  immediate  promise  of  marketable 
fruit.  The  labour  of  many  years  spent  in  minute  tracing  of 
the  development  of  insects,  echinoderms,  worms  and  jelly- 
fish, would  appear  sufficiently  unprofitable  to  those  who 
give  a  scanty  support  to  Botany  as  the  provider  of  drugs, 
who  tolerate  Chemistry  because  it  has  supplied  aniline  dyes, 
and  who  patronise  the  physical  sciences  from  a  lively  sense 
of  the  convenience  of  telephones  and  telegraphs.  And  yet 
from  these  remote,  inhuman  interests,  Metchnikoff,  without 
intellectual  transition,  passed  directly  to  results  affecting 
vitally  the  human  race,  and  became  one  of  the,  high  priests 
of  Bacteriology  and  a  guardian  of  the  Pandora's  box  of 
modern  times. 


EDITOR'S    INTRODUCTION  v 

From  observations  made  originally  on  water-fleas,  he  was 
led  to  discover  the  functions  of  the  white  corpuscles  of 
human  blood.  He  showed  by  what  mechanism  these  made 
perpetual  war  against  the  intruding  microbes  of  disease,  and 
he  laid  the  foundations  of  knowledge  as  to  the  agencies  that 
weaken  and  the  modes  of  strengthening  these  guardians  of 
our  health.  In  a  series  of  investigations  into  the  phenomena 
of  inflammation  in  men  and  lower  animals,  he  carried  his 
observations  into  new  fields,  and  explained  the  relations  of 
the  white  corpuscles  to  the  juices  that  attract  and  repel  them 
(chemotaxis).  It  was  he,  for  instance,  who  discovered  that 
these  corpuscles,  under  certain  circumstances,  migrate  into 
the  hairs  and  absorb  and  remove  the  pigment,  so  producing 
the  blanching  of  old  age.  Although  popularly  the  most  in- 
teresting this  was  far  from  being  the  most  important  of  the 
changes  of  senile  decay  that  he  found  to  be  due  to  the 
activity  of  the  wandering  cells  of  the  body.  And,  as  will 
be  seen  in  the  present  volume,  the  actions  and  interactions 
of  the  bacteria  harboured  in  the  body,  the  white  corpuscles 
that  are  a  natural  part  of  the  body,  and  the  various  juices 
or  serums  produced  naturally  or  introduced  by  accident  or 
design,  are  concerned  in  life  itself  and  the  decay  of  life. 

MetchnikofT  is  an  expert  of  experts  in  the  science  of  life, 
and  has  gained  the  right  to  a  hearing  by  forty  years  of  pa- 
tient devotion  and  brilliant  research.  In  the  volume  that 
he  has  now  given  to  the  public,  he  has  addressed  himself  to 
the  gravest  and  the  most  serious  problems  of  humanity,  to 
life  and  sex  and  death  and  the  fear  of  death.  From  the 
earliest  days  when  man  could  spare  time  from  the  satisfac- 
tion of  his  immediate  wants  to  reflect  upon  his  nature  and 
destiny,  these  problems  and  the  invention  of  fantastic  solu- 
tions or  evasive  anodynes  have  absorbed  his  attention.  The 
folklore  and  philosophy,  the  religion  and  poetry  of  all  races 


vi  EDITOR'S    INTRODUCTION 

and  of  all  stages  of  culture,  from  savage  barbarism  to  de- 
cadent refinement,  revolve  round  these  obsessions  of  the 
mind,  and,  as  Metchnikoff  most  plainly  shows,  no  enduring 
comfort  has  yet  been  found.  Now  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  thought,  the  exact  methods  of  science  have  been 
brought  to  the  statement  of  the  problems. 

In  revising  this  translation  of  Metchnikoff's  book  for  the 
English-speaking  public  I  have  had  to  content  myself  with 
seeing  that  the  plain  meaning  of  the  French  was  transformed 
to  plain  English,  and  that  references  to  French  editions  were 
changed,  so  far  as  was  possible,  to  corresponding  references 
to  English  editions.  Some  of  the  phrases  that  recur  were 
difficult  to  express.  "Human  nature"  for  instance  is  not 
an  exact  equivalent  of  la  nature  humaine,  for  the  latter 
phrase  has  a  complete  significance,  and  very  definitely  im- 
plies not  only  the  mental  qualities  of  man,  but  his  bodily 
framework,  with  its  inherited  and  acquired  anatomical  struc- 
ture and  physiological  functions.  The  phrase  "human  con- 
stitution," especially  in  the  common  medical  sense,  carries 
more  of  the  meaning,  and  I  have  used  it  occasionally.  The 
word  "harmony"  means  harmony  with  the  environment, 
and  disharmony  is  want  of  harmony  or  imperfect  adaptation 
to  the  existing  environment.  In  the  case  of  the  human 
organism,  which  has  passed  through  profound  changes  at  a 
rate  prodigious  in  the  history  of  evolution,  many  parts  of 
the  constitution  are  no  longer  in  gear  with  the  existing 
environment,  and  it  is  in  such  disharmonies  that  Metch- 
nikoff finds  the  source  of  the  troubles  that  have  perplexed 
mankind. 

In  several  parts  of  this  volume,  and  particularly  in  the 
chapter  dealing  with  disharmonies  in  the  reproductive  func- 
tions, there  is  much  plain  speaking  on  matters  that  modern 
civilisation  attempts  to  conceal.  I  have  not  had  the  im- 


EDITOR'S    INTRODUCTION  vii 

pertinence  to  suppress  or  to  alter  a  line  or  a  word  of  these 
pages.  They  are  written  in  high  seriousness  on  fundamental 
facts  of  the  constitution  of  man ;  they  relate  to  problems 
and  difficulties  that  every  age  in  the  history  of  man  has  had 
to  face,  and  that  are  dealt  with  in  the  plainest  language  in 
the  books  of  all  the  religions.  For  the  first  time  proper 
knowledge  has  been  brought  to  the  task,  and  it  is  to  be  re- 
membered that  this  volume  is  an  attempt  to  explain  mys- 
teries of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit  of  which  all  existing 
explanations  have  failed  to  satisfy  humanity.  The  volume 
is  avowedly  no  more  than  a  preliminary  statement,  a  rally- 
ing-point  for  the  work  of  future  generations.  But  it  awakens 
a  new  hope  for  humanity  now  that  the  old  are  fallen  dumb; 
as  MetchnikofT  himself  says,  "If  it  be  true  that  man  cannot 
live  without  faith,  this  volume,  when  the  age  of  faith  seemed 
gone  by,  has  provided  a  new  faith,  that  in  the  all-powerful- 
ness  of  science. "  In  every  country,  the  new  Order  of  priests 
of  science,  in  the  vigils  of  the  laboratory,  is  working  for  the 
future  of  humanity. 

P.  CHALMERS   MITCHELL. 


PREFACE 

In  offering  this  book  to  you,  reader,  I  feel  that  I  must  justify 
its  publication.  I  admit  freely  that  more  could  be  said  for 
a  finished  study  in  which  hypotheses  were  replaced  by 
exact  fact.  But  to  get  together  assured  results  in  a  field 
so  little  explored  is  a  great  task,  calling  for  time  and  much 
labour. 

I  remembered  the  adage,  "Ars  longa,  vita  brevis"  and 
I  decided  to  publish  what  is  really  a  programme  of  work  to 
be  carried  out  as  fully  as  circumstances  may  permit.  At 
all  events,  I  hope  that  such  a  programme  may  have  its 
value  for  younger  investigators,  who  wish  a  point  of  orien- 
tation for  their  labours. 

My  book  is  addressed  to  disciplined  minds,  and  in  especial 
to  biologists.  As  I  wrote  it,  I  had  not  the  general  public 
in  my  mind,  and  so  I  did  not  hesitate  to  devote  nearly  the 
whole  of  a  chapter  to  "disharmonies  in  the  apparatus  of 
reproduction."  I  see  in  that  apparatus  the  clearest  proof  of 
the  essential  disharmony  in  the  organisation  of  man. 

I  have  to  thank  those  friends  who  were  familiar  with  my 
views  and  whose  advice  and  assistance  have  helped  me  to 
develop  them. 

In  particular,  I  desire  to  thank  my  friends  Dr.  E.  Roux, 
who  was  at  the  pains  to  make  my  French  more  French; 
and  Dr.  J.  Goldschmidt  and  Dr.  Mesnil,  who  have  read  and 
revised  the  proof-sheets. 

£LIE  METCHNIKOFF. 

PARIS,  February  8,  1903. 


CONTENTS 

EDITOR'S    INTRODUCTION     ........       iii 

AUTHOR'S  PREFACE ix 

PART  I 
DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION — SUMMARY  OF  CPINIONS  ON  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN        I 

Importance  of  the  study  of  the  nature  of  man — The  nature  of 
man  as  the  foundation  of  morality — Greek  worship  of  human 
nature — Matriopathy  of  ancient  philosophers — Rationalism 
of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries — Degradation  of 
human  nature  by  religious  doctrines — Influence  of  these  con- 
ceptions on  actual  life  and  on  art — Reaction  of  the  Reforma- 
tion against  the  degradation  of  human  nature — Mutilation  of 
the  human  body  by  primitive  races 

CHAPTER  II 

HARMONIES  AND  DISHARMONIES  AMONGST  BEINGS  INFERIOR  TO 

MAN 17 

The   organised  world    before   the  appearance  of  man  on  the 
earth — Absence  of  a  law  of  universal  progress — Fertilisation 
xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

Page 

of  vanilla — The  part  played  by  insects  in  the  fertilisation  of 
orchids— Mechanism  by  which  insects  carry  the  pollen  of 
orchids— Habits  of  fossorial  wasps — Harmonies  in  nature — 
Useless  organs — Rudiments  of  the  pollinia  of  orchids — 
Disharmonies  in  nature — Unadapted  insects— Aberration  of 
instincts — Perversion  of  sexual  instinct — Attraction  of  insects 
by  light — Luminous  insects — Law  of  natural  selection — 
Happiness  and  unhappiness  in  the  organised  world 


CHAPTER  III 


SIMIAN  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 


Relationship  of  the  human  species  with  anthropoid  apes — 
Analogies  in  the  dentition,  in  the  organisation  of  the  limbs  and 
of  the  brain — Resemblance  of  the  vermiform  appendage  of 
man  and  anthropoids — Analogy  between  the  placenta  and 
fcetus  of  man  and  anthropoid  apes — Blood  relationship  of  man 
and  monkeys  shown  by  serums  and  precipitates — Transmu- 
tation of  species — Sudden  transition  from  monkey  to  man — 
J.  Inaudi,  the  calculator,  as  an  example  of  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  ^aiacters  in  the  human  species — Rudimentary  organs 
in  man — Proportion  of  progressive  and  retrogressive  organs 
in  the  organisation  of  man 


CHAPTER  IV 

DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  ORGANISATION  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  SYSTEM 

OF  MAN 6l 

Perfection  of  the  human  form — The  covering  of  hair — the 
dentition  in  general,  and  the  wisdom-teeth — The  vermiform 
appendage — Appendicitis  and  its  gravity — Uselessness  of  the 
caecum  and  of  the  large  intestine — Instance  of  a  woman 
without  a  large  intestine — Ancestral  history  of  this  portion  of 
the  digestive  tract — Injurious  effect  of  the  microbes  of  the 
large  intestine-  -Frequency  of  cancer  of  the  large  intestine  and 
of  the  stomach — Limited  usefulness  of  the  stomach — The 
instinct  of  choice  of  food — Futility  of  this  instinct  in  man 


CONTENTS 


Xlll 


CHAPTER  V 

DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  ORGANISATION  AND  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE 
REPRODUCTIVE  APPARATUS — DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  FAMILY 
AND  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS 


Page 


I 

Remarks  on  the  disharmonies  in  the  human  organs  of  sense 
and  perception — Rudimentary  parts  of  the  reproductive 
apparatus — Origin  and  function  of  the  hymen 

II 

Evolution  and  significance  of  the  menstrual  flow  in  women — 
Precocious  marriage  amongst  primitive  and  uncivilised  races 
—  Disharmony  between  age  of  puberty  and  age  of 
nubility — Age  of  marriage — Examples  of  disharmony  in  the 
development  of  the  reproductive  function 


III 

Disharmonies  in  the  family  instincts — Artificial  abortion — De- 
sertion and  infanticide— Disharmonies  in  the  social  instincts 


CHAPTER  VI 

DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  INSTINCT  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION 

The  instinct  of  self-preservation  in  animals — Man's  instinctive 
love  of  life — Indifference  to  life  during  childhood — Buddhist 
legend  on  instinctive  self-preservation  and  the  fear  of  death 
— Fear  of  death  treated  in  literature — Confessions  of  Tolstoi 
regarding  the  fear  of  death — Other  opinions  on  the  subject — 
The  fear  of  death  an  instinctive  phenomenon — Development 
in  man  of  a  love  of  life — Treatment  of  the  aged — Murder  of 
old  people — Suicide  of  old  men — Absence  of  harmony  between 

'  the  love  of  life  and  the  conditions  of  human  existence — The 
part  played  by  the  fear  of  death  in  religions  and  systems  of 
philosophy 


xiv  CONTENTS 

PART  II 

ATTEMPTS  TO  DIMINISH  THE  ILLS  ARISING  FROM  THE 

DISHARMONIES  OF  THE  HUMAN  CONSTITUTION 

(RELIGIOUS  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  SYSTEMS) 

CHAPTER  VII 

Page 

RELIGIOUS  ATTEMPTS  TO  COMBAT  THE  ILLS  ARISING  FROM  THE 

DISHARMONIES  OF  THE  HUMAN  CONSTITUTION  .        .     '  .        .     137 

Animism  as  the  foundation  of  primitive  religions — The  Jewish 
religion  in  relation  to  the  doctrine  of  immortality  of  the  soul 
— The  religions  of  China — Ancestor  worship  in  Confucianism 
— The  conception  of  immortality  in  Taoism — The  persistence 
of  the  soul  in  the  Buddhist  religion — The  paradise  of  the 
Chinese  Buddhists — Ancestors  worshipped  as  gods— Influence 
of  religious  faith  on  the  fear  of  death — Pessimism  of  the 
doctrine  of  Buddha — The  meaning  of  Nirvana — Resignation 
as  preached  by  Buddha— Objections  to  immortality  of 
the  soul — Irritability  of  the  tissues  and  cells  of  the  body — 
Religious  hygiene — Religious  means  of  controlling  the  repro- 
ductive functions  and  of  preventing  diseases — Failure  of 
religions  in  their  attempts  to  combat  the  ills  arising  from  the 
disharmonies  of  the  human  constitution 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ATTEMPTS  IN  SYSTEMS  OF   PHILOSOPHY  TO   REMEDY  THE   ILLS 
ARISING  FROM  THE  DISHARMONIES  OF  THE  HUMAN  CONSTITU- 

TION 166 

Some  philosophical  systems  are  in  intimate  union  with  religions 
—Ideas  of  ancient  philosophers  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
—The  teaching  of  Plato— The  scepticism  of  Aristotle— The 
Stoics— Cicero,  Seneca,  Marcus  Aurelius— Modern  philoso- 
phical systems— Pessimism  and  its  origin— Lord  Byron- 
Theories  of  Schopenhauer  and  Hartmann— Mailaender's 
philosophy  of  deliverance— Criticisms  of  pessimism— Max 
Nordau— Ideas  of  modern  thinkers  on  death 


CONTENTS  xv 

PART  III 

WHAT  SCIENCE  IS  ABLE  TO  DO  TO  ALLEVIATE  THE  DIS- 
HARMONIES OF  THE  HUMAN  CONSTITUTION 

CHAPTER  IX 

P*g< 

WHAT  SCIENCE  CAN  DO  AGAINST  DISEASE 203 

Formation  of  the  experimental  method — The  intervention  of 
religion  in  disease — Disease  as  a  basis  of  pessimistic  systems 
of  philosophy — Advance  of  medical  science  in  the  war  against 
disease — The  revolution  in  medicine  and  surgery  due  to  the 
discoveries  of  Pasteur — The  beneficial  results  of  Serum 
Therapy  in  the  war  against  infectious  diseases — Failure  of 
science  to  cure  tuberculosis  and  malignant  tumours — Protests 
against  the  advance  of  science — Opposition  of  Rousseau, 
Tolstoi  and  Brunetiere — Proclamation  of  the  fallibility  of 
science — Return  to  religion  and  mysticism 


CHAPTER  X 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  OLD  AGE  .  .  .  228 
General  account  of  old  age — Theory  of  senile  degeneration 
amongst  unicellular  organisms — Conjugation  amongst  infusoria 
— Old  age  in  birds  and  in  anthropoid  apes — General 
characters  of  senile  degeneration — Sclerosis  of  the  organs — 
Phagocyte  theory  of  senile  degeneration — Destruction  of 
higher  elements  by  macrophags — Mechanism  of  whitening  of 
the  hair — Serums  acting  on  cells  (cytotoxins) — Sclerosis  of  the 
arteries  and  its  causation — Harm  done  by  the  microbes  of  the 
alimentary  canal — Intestinal  putrefaction  and  the  modes  of 
preventing  it — Attempts  to  prolong  human  life — Longevity  in 
biblical  times 

CHAPTER  XI 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF  DEATH       .        .        .    262 
Theory  of  the  immortality  of  lower  organisms — Immortality  of 
the   sexual  cells  in   higher   organisms — Immortality   of  the 


xvi  CONTENTS 

Pag* 

cellular  soul — Occurrence  of  natural  death  in  the  case  of 
certain  animals— Natural  death  in  the  Ephemeridae — Loss  of 
the  instinct  of  preservation  in  adult  Ephemerids — Instinct  of 
life  in  the  aged — Instinct  of  natural  death  in  man — Death  of 
old  men  in  biblical  times — Changes  in  the  instincts  of  man 
and  lower  animals 


CHAPTER  XII 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 285 

Disharmonies  in  the  human  constitution  as  the  chief  source  of 
our  sorrows — Scientific  data  as  to  the  origin  and  destiny  of 
man — The  goal  of  human  existence — Difficulties  in  the  way  of 
scientific  investigation  of  the  problem,  What  is  progress  ? — 
Difficulty  of  including  the  whole  human  rate  in  a  scheme  of 
progress  and  morality — The  instincts  of  life  and  of  natural 
death — Application  to  real  life  of  the  doctrines  set  forth  in 
this  book 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Photograph  of  Elie  Metchnikoff        ...» 

Fi?s.  Page 

1.  Catasetum  saccatum       ...«••.        •        ,  24 

2.  Herminium  monorchis „        .        .  26 

3.  Cerreris ••,.28 

4.  Listera  ovata «...  32 

5.  Pelopczus .        ...  34 

6.  Caecum  and  vermiform  appendage  of  man        ....  44 

7.  Caecum  and  vermiform  appendage  of  chimpanzee    ...  45 

8.  Foetus  of  gibbon 46 

9.  Human  foetus       .......        „        .        .  47 

10.  Foetus  of  gorilla           .........  50 

11.  Human  foetus       .         ......*«.  51 

12.  Paramecium  about  to  divide „  230 

13.  Conjugation  of  Paramecia 231 

14.  Section  of  a  renal  tubule  invaded  by  MacrophagS    .        ,        .  241 

15.  Brain  cells  devoured  by  MacrophagS         .        .        .        ,  24! 

16.  Hair  becoming  grey 243 

17.  Chcetogaster  about  to  divide         ...        i        ...  265 

18.  Ephemerids «...  271 

19.  Swarms  of  Palingenia  virgo          .......  273 

ao.  Larva  of  an  Ephemerid »        •        .  276 


xvii 


THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 


PART    I 

DISHARMONIES   IN  THE   NATURE 

OF   MAN 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTION 

SUMMARY  OF  OPINIONS  ON  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

Importance  of  the  study  of  the  nature  of  man — The  nature 
of  man  as  the  foundation  of  morality — Greek  worship  of 
human  nature — Matriopathy  of  ancient  philosophers — 
Rationalism  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries — 
Degradation  of  human  nature  by  religious  doctrines — 
Influence  of  these  conceptions  on  actual  life  and  on  art — 
Reaction  of  the  Reformation  against  the  degradation  of 
human  nature — Mutilation  of  the  human  body  by 
primitive  races 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  real  advance  made  by  science, 
expressions  of  discontentment  with  it  are  familiar.  Science, 
it  is  said,  no  doubt  has  ameliorated  the  material  conditions 
of  human  life,  but  is  powerless  to  solve  those  moral  and 
philosophical  questions  that  interest  cultured  people  so 
deeply.  In  this  region  science  has  done  no  more  than  to 
destroy  the  foundations  of  religion.  It  has  robbed  man- 
kind of  the  consolations  of  religion  without  being  able  to 
replace  them  with  anything  more  exact  or  more  enduring. 

It  cannot  be  disputed  that  a  general  uneasiness  disturbs 
the  world  of  to-day.  Although  his  environment  is  most 
favourable  to  the  fulfilment  of  many  of  his  capacities,  man 
finds  himself  without  orientation  when  he  has  to  determine 
the  course  of  his  life,  or  to  explain  to  himself  his  true  rela- 
tion to  such  categories  of  humanity  as  family,  nation, 


4  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

race  and  human  race.  This  uneasiness  reveals  itself  as 
discontentment,  and  it  leads  to  pessimism  or  to  mysticism. 
Most  of  the  philosophical  systems  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury were  steeped  in  melancholy,  and  led  straight  to  a 
denial  of  the  possibility  of  happiness  and  even  to  an  advo- 
cacy of  extinction.  The  frequency  of  suicide  has  increased 
greatly  among  all  the  civilised  peoples.  There  is  no  need 
to  tabulate  proofs  of  a  notorious  fact.* 

A  remedy  for  this  malady  of  the  age  has  been  sought 
in  the  attempt  to  restore  religious  and  mystical  faith. 
On  all  sides  have  sprung  up  efforts  to  found  new  religions 
or  to  amend  the  old.  Many  defenders  of  science  have 
gone  the  length  of  admitting  its  incapacity  to  solve  the 
problem  of  the  existence  of  man  ;  they  have  held  that  that 
problem  was  insoluble  for  the  human  mind.  Such  a  depressing 
conclusion  has  been  formulated  in  spite  of  many  attempts 
to  reach  a  rational  conception  of  the  universe  and  of  man. 

It  is  no  new  thing  to  ask  if  there  be  nothing  but  faith 
to  control  human  conduct  and  to  lead  mankind  towards 
universal  happiness.  Men  of  science  and  philosophers, 
in  many  ages,  have  thought  that  human  nature  itself  could 
provide  all  the  materials  for  a  rational  morality. 

In  the  ancient  world  and,  above  all,  among  the  Greeks, 
human  nature  was  held  in  high  esteem.  The  Oriental 
races,  predecessors  of  the  Greeks  in  civilisation,  generally 
represented  their  gods  as  fantastic  or  grotesque  beings, 
composites  of  men  and  animals.  The  Greeks  made  gods 

*  Since  A.  Wagner's  classical  work,  "  Ueber  die  Gesetzmassigkeit 
der  scheinbar  wilkurlichen  menschlichen  Handlungen,"  suicide 
has  been  discussed  by  many  authors.  The  most  recent  contribution 
to  the  subject  is  the  important  monograph  by  Westergaard,  "  Die 
Lehre  von  der  Mortalitaet  u.  Morbiditaet,"  Second  Edition,  Jena, 
1901. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

in  their  own  image,  giving  them  all  the  most  beautiful 
qualities  of  the  human  race.  Such  a  conception  was  a 
dominant  factor  in  ancient  Greek  life  and  civilisation. 
The  adoration  of  Man  embraced  the  human  body,  and  led 
to  the  despising  of  every  mode  of  tampering  with  the 
natural  body.  Thus,  for  instance,  shaving  *  of  the  face 
was  regarded  as  a  humiliation,  for  a  smooth  chin  gave  an 
unnatural,  womanish,  cast  to  the  face  of  a  man. 

The  adoration  of  human  nature  by  the  Greeks  appeared 
in  Greek  plastic  art,  and  was  the  cause  of  its  excellence. 
The  ideal  of  art  was  to  copy,  in  the  most  faithful  way, 
the  most  perfect  example  of  the  human  body,  and  Greek 
artists  made  measurements  of  the  body  so  accurately 
that  modern  science  has  confirmed  their  chief  results,  f 
As  sculpture  most  completely  realised  the  Greek  ideal  of 
the  human  body,  it  became  almost  a  national  art  among 
the  Greeks. 

Greek  philosophy  had  an  equally  high  opinion  of  human 
nature,  of  the  human  body,  and  of  representations  of  the 
human  body.  Just  as  Greek  art  aimed  at  the  presentation 
of  the  body  of  man,  so  Greek  philosophy  proclaimed  the 
nobility  of  all  human  qualities,  and  inculcated  the  doctrine 
of  a  harmonious  development  of  all  sides  of  human 
nature  .J  Such  a  doctrine  was  formulated  by  Plato,  and 
became  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Old  Academy  ; 
the  New  Academy  assumed  it,  and  handed  it  on  to  the 
Sceptics.  According  to  Xenocrates  (fourth  century),  who 

*  Shaving  the  beard  began  at  the  time  of  the  Macedonian  rule, 
and  philosophers  refrained  from  the  new  custom,  which  seemed 
to  them  unprincipled.  (V.  Hermann,  "  Lehrbuch  der  griechischen 
Privatalterthumer,"  1870,  vol.  I.,  pp.  175-177.) 

f  Quetelet,  "  Anthropometrie,"   1872,  p.  86. 

I  Zeller,  "  Die  Philosophic  der  Griechen,"  Third  Edition,  vol.  II 
I,  p.  741,  1875. 


6  THE    NATURE   OF    MAN 

belonged  to  the  Old  Academy,  happiness  consisted  not 
only  in  the  possession  of  human  virtue,  but  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  all  natural  acts.* 

The  principle  of  a  worship  of  human  nature  is  in  itself 
rather  vague,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  disputes  and  con- 
tradictions arose  in  relation  to  its  application.  Thus  Plato 
excluded  pleasure  from  his  conception  of  the  good,  while 
Aristotle,  Plato's  pupil,  held  a  contrary  opinion.  For  the 
latter  pleasure  was  the  natural  motive  of  human  action,  and 
its  attainment  was  associated  as  intimately  with  the  perfect 
life  as  beauty  and  health  were  associated  with  the  perfect 
human  body.f 

Under  the  name  Matriopathy  there  arose,  in  the  ancient 
world,  a  doctrine  the  object  of  which  was  the  study  of 
the  goal  of  natural  morality.  This  doctrine  was  held  by 
many  philosophers,  but  these  applied  it  to  the  details  of 
actual  life  in  very  different  fashions.  Thus,  for  the  Stoics, 
the  summum  bonum  and  happiness,  the  most  lofty  aim, 
could  not  be  found  except  by  conforming  life  to  nature. 
Conduct  was  to  be  brought  into  harmony  with  the  rational 
order  of  nature  in  such  a  fashion  that  every  conscious  and 
rational  being  would  perform  no  actions  that  could  not  be 
deduced  from  the  general  law.|  The  same  principle  of 
a  life  in  harmony  with  nature  led  the  Epicureans  to  the 
conclusion  that  "  pleasure  is  a  natural  good,  that  is  to 
say,  a  condition  conformable  with  nature,  and  so  bringing 
with  it  intrinsic  contentment."  §  Setting  out  from  the  same 
fundamental  principle,  the  theories  of  the  Stoics  and  Epi- 
cureans led  in  opposite  directions. 

*  Zeller,  I.e.  p.  880, 

f  Zeller,  vol.  II.,  2,  p.  447. 

J  Zeller,  Fkst  Edition,  vol.  III.,  7,  p«  193 

§  Zeller,  I.e.  p.  401. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

The  Roman  philosophers  adopted  the  principle  of  a  life 
strictly  natural.  Seneca,  for  instance,*  enunciated  the 
maxim  :  "  Take  nature  as  your  guide,  for  so  reason  bids  you 
and  advises  you  ;  to  live  happily  is  to  live  naturally." 

Without  following  through  the  centuries  the  develop- 
ment of  the  idea  in  detail,  I  may  content  myself  with  saying 
that  resort  has  been  made  to  it,  wherever  there  was  sought, 
outside  the  sanction  of  religion,  a  rational  principle  to  guide 
human  conduct.  It  recurs  even  among  those  convinced 
Christians  who  rebelled  against  the  asceticism  and  hatred 
of  human  nature  that  became  prevalent  in  the  early  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era. 

The  Greek  conception  of  a  life  in  harmony  with  nature 
found  its  most  complete  development  in  the  rationalism 
of  the  Renaissance,  and  of  the  centuries  that  followed  it. 
Hutcheson.f  a  Scotch  philosopher  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, insisted  that  right  was  with  the  thinkers  of  the 
naturalistic  school,  ahd  that  the  realisation  of  their  ideal 
was  to  be  considered  as  the  highest  virtue.  He  thus  placed 
himself  directly  against  the  Scotch  clergy  who  asserted  the 
greatest  contempt  for  human  nature.  Buckle  J  proclaimed 
that  it  was  a  high  honour  for  Hutcheson  to  have  been  the 
first  Scotchman  to  raise  his  voice  publicly  against  the 
degrading  views  of  his  time. 

The  French  philosophers  of  the  eighteenth  century,  who 
sought  to  replace  the  religious  foundations  of  conduct  by 
rational  principles,  again  had  recourse  to  human  nature. 
Not  long  before  the  French  Revolution  there  appeared  a 
treatise  in  three  volumes,  written  by  Baron  d'Holbach, 
and  entitled,  "  Universal  Morality,  or  the  Duties  of  Man 

*  "  De  Vita  Beata,  "  chap.  viii. 

t  "Moral  Philosophy,"  London,   1755. 

J  Buckle,  "  History  of  Civilisation  in  England," 


8  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

based  on  Nature."*  Frankly  a  materialist  and  atheist, 
that  writer  laid  it  down  as  an  axiom  that  "  to  be  universal, 
the  moral  law  must  be  founded  on  the  essential  nature  of 
man,  that  is  to  say,  on  the  properties  and  qualities  found 
constantly  in  the  human  being,  and  that  distinguish  him 
from  other  animals."  To  be  well  assured,  "morality 
presumes  a  science  of  human  nature."  f 

The  principle  of  ancient  philosophy  reappeared  in  the 
works  of  rationalists  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Wilhelm 
von  Humboldt  declared  that  "  the  ultimate  ideal  of  man, 
the  ideal  prescribed  for  him  by  the  irrefutable  and  eternal 
laws  of  reason,  consisted  in  a  development  as  harmonious 
as  possible  of  all  his  qualities  in  their  entirety."  The 
modern  historian,  Lecky,J  defines  the  aim  of  life  as  the 
full  development  of  all  that  exists  in  the  proportions  deter- 
mined by  nature. 

Philosophers  and  historians  are  not  alone  in  the  adoption 
of  Greek  rationalism.  Many  naturalists,  and  among  these 
some  very  distinguished  authors,  have  spoken  in  the  same 
sense.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  Greek  principle  in  such  phrases 
as  those  of  Darwin  §  when  he  wrote  :  "  The  term  general 
good  may  be  defined  as  the  means  by  which  the  greatest 
possible  number  of  individuals  can  be  reared  in  full  vigour 
and  health,  with  all  their  faculties  perfect,  under  the  con- 
ditions to  which  they  are  exposed." 

Georges  Seidlitz,  ||  an  advocate  of  the  great  English 
naturalist,  got  still  nearer  to  the  conception  of  the  ancients. 

*  Published  at  Amsterdam  in  1776.  f  Vol.  I.,  p.  32. 

}  "  History  of  European  Morals,"  Third  Edition,  London,  1877. 

§  "  The  Descent  of  Man  and  Selection  in  Relation  to  Sex," 
First  Edition,  vol.  I.,  p.  98. 

||  "  Die  Darwin'sche  Theorie."  Second  Edition,  1875,  p.  272, 
note  25. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

According  to  Kim,  the  moral  and  rational  life  consisted  in 
"the  accomplishment  of  all  the  functions  of  the  body,  in 
due  but  full  proportion." 

Herbert  Spencer,*  in  analysing  the  aim  of  existence, 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  morality  should  be  adjusted 
so  as  to  make  life  as  full  and  complete  as  possible.  As  a 
criterion  of  physical  perfection,  the  English  philosopher 
would  accept  only  the  complete  devotion  of  all  the  organs 
to  the  accomplishment  of  all  their  functions,  while  his 
criterion  of  moral  perfection  was  contribution  to  the  general 
good.  These  views  are  plainly,  if  not  exactly,  expressions 
of  the  Greek  ideal. 

While,  then,  rational  philosophers  in  all  the  ages  have 
sought  the  foundation  of  morality  in  human  nature  itself,  and 
have  held  human  nature  to  be  good,  or  even  perfect,  many  reli- 
gious doctrines  have  displayed  a  very  different  view.  Human 
nature  was  regarded  as  being  composed  of  two  hostile 
elements,  a  body  and  a  soul.  The  soul  alone  was  to  be 
honoured,  while  the  body  was  regarded  as  the  vile  source 
of  evils.  Such  a  view  led  to  the  flagellations  and  torturings 
of  the  body  which  form  so  strange  and  so  wide-spread  a 
phenomenon.  The  Hindu  fakirs  who  swing  themselves  on 
hooks,  the  dervishes  and  Mussulman  Assouans  who  beat 
in  their  skulls  with  clubs,  the  Russian  Skoptsy  who  emascu- 
late themselves,  and  many  other  instances  make  it  plain  that 
natural  perfection  is  not  taken  as  the  basis  for  conduct. 

Buddha  f  in  the  clearest  way  showed  his  belief  that 
human  nature  was  base.  Coming  out  from  the  apart- 
ments of  the  women,  there  came  to  him  a  "  vivid  idea 
of  the  impurity  of  the  body,  a  feeling  of  repulsion  from  it, 

*  "The  Data  of  Ethics,"     1879. 

t  The  "  Lalita  Vistara,"  translated  from  Sanscrit  into  French 
by  Foucaux  ;  "  Annales  du  Musee  Guimet,"  vol,  VI.  p.  183.  1884. 


io  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

and  of  blame  of  it ;  regarding  his  own  body  and  seeing 
its  wretchedness,  he  began  to  despise  it,  and  to  formulate 
conceptions  of  impurity  and  purity  ;  from  the  sole  of  the 
feet  to  the  crown  of  the  head,  to  the  limit  of  the  brain,  he  saw 
that  the  body  was  born  in  impurity,  came  from  impurity,  and 
always  let  itself  be  drawn  to  impurity"  These  reflections 
led  him  to  the  conclusion :  "  What  wise  man,  having  re- 
garded his  own  body,  will  not  see  in  it  an  enemy  ?  " 

Towards  the  end  of  the  old  world,  the  Greek  theory 
of  human  nature  yielded  to  a  very  different  conception. 
The  opposition  between  the  opinions  of  the  Stoics  on 
morality,  and  their  admiration  of  human  nature,  led  Seneca, 
one  of  the  last  Roman  Stoics  and  a  celebrated  contemporary 
of  Jesus  Christ,  to  break  completely  away  from  the  ancient 
doctrine.  Convinced  of  the  moral  weakness  and  imper- 
fection of  man,  and  of  the  persisting  power  of  evil,  Seneca 
declared  that  human  nature  contained  a  vicious  and  essen- 
tially evil  element.  This  element  was  seated  in  the  body, 
which  he  regarded  as  so  essentially  vile  that  it  is  to  be 
despised.  Our  body  was  no  more  than  the  dwelling  of  the 
soul,  its  temporary  home,  a  place  in  which  it  cannot  be 
at  rest.  The  body  was  a  burden  which  the  soul  would  be 
rid  of,  a  prison-house  from  which  it  would  escape.  Accord- 
ing to  Seneca  *  the  soul  must  wrestle  with  the  body,  for 
the  body  brings  to  it  nothing  but  suffering,  while  the  soul  is 
essentially  pure  and  spotless,  and  as  much  above  the  body 
as  divinity  is  above  matter. 

A  dualism  still  more  pronounced  was  characteristic  of 
the  early  Christian  view  of  human  nature,  and  led  to  the 
depreciation  of  the  body  as  compared  with  the  soul.  In 
the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  of  our  era  such  a  view  was 
so  dominant  that  a  struggle  against  the  material  side  of 
*  Zeller,  loc.  cit.  p.  633, 


INTRODUCTION  n 

our  nature  became  a  rule  of  life.  The  most  absolute  asceti- 
cism spread  throughout  the  Christian  world.*  A  struggle 
against  hunger,  thirst,  and  desire  for  sleep,  rejection  of  all 
pleasures  that  come  from  impressions  of  sight,  of  hearing, 
or  of  the  palate,  and,  above  all,  abstention  from  sexual 
intercourse,  became,  in  the  opinion  of  believers,  the  true 
aim  of  human  life.  The  conviction  that  human  nature 
was  essentially  corrupt  led  to  a  declaration  of  war  against 
it ;  all  the  pleasures  were  forbidden,  even  the  most  innocent 
of  them  being  thought  vicious.  What  could  be  more  in 
contrast  with  the  calm  and  joyous  philosophy  of  the  Greeks, 
for  whom  there  did  not  exist  the  idea  of  a  struggle  against 
the  supposed  corruption  and  imperfection  of  man  ?  The 
dualistic  theory  made  such  demands  on  its  proselytes  that 
these,  absorbed  in  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  sank  from 
the  physical  point  of  view  to  the  level  of  wild  beasts.  Hermits 
resorted  to  the  lairs  of  animals,  abandoned  their  clothing 
and  went  about  naked  with  shaggy  and  disordered  hair. 
In  Mesopotamia  and  a  part  of  Syria  there  arose  a  sect 
of  eaters  of  grass  ;  these  were  people  who  had  no  dwellings 
and  who  ate  neither  bread  nor  vegetables,  but  wandered 
on  the  hills  and  fed  on  the  herbage.  Cleanliness  of  the 
body  was  regarded  as  an  indication  of  corruptness  of  the 
soul,  and  among  the  most  highly  venerated  of  the  saints 
were  those  who  took  no  care  of  the  body.  Athanasius 
relates  with  approval  that  when  St.  Antony,  the  father  of 
monks,  became  old  he  never  washed  his  feet.f 

Such  doctrines  soon  brought  about  a  most  serious  per- 
version of  the  innate  instincts  of  the  human  race.  The 
senses  of  family  and  of  society  became  so  weakened  that 
fanatical  Christians  were  more  than  indifferent  to  their 

*  Lecky,  "  History  of  European  Morals,"  chap,  iv, 
t  Lecky. 


12  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

kinsmen  and  countrymen.  One  saint  was  venerated  because 
he  was  hard  and  cruel  only  to  his  relatives.  It  is  told 
of  the  Abbot  Siseuss  that  on  a  believer  asking  to  be  received 
into  the  convent,  he  inquired  if  the  suppliant  had  any  one 
akin  to  him.  "  I  have  only  a  son,"  said  the  Christian. 
"  Well,  then,"  said  the  abbot,  "  take  your  son  and  cast 
him  into  the  river,  for  thus  only  may  you  become  a  monk." 
The  father  set  about  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  abbot,  and 
it  was  only  at  the  last  moment  that  the  order  was  recalled. 
For  admission  into  a  Christian  community  it  was  necessary 
to  renounce  one's  country.* 

Such  ideas  have  struck  a  deep  and  enduring  root.  In 
the  opinion  of  the  ministers  of  the  Scotch  Church  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  according  to  Buckle, f  there  was 
nothing  so  surprising  as  that  the  earth  could  contain  itself 
in  the  presence  of  that  horrid  spectacle,  man,  and  that  it 
did  not  gape,  as  in  former  days,  to  swallow  him  in  the 
midst  of  his  wickedness.  For  certainly,  in  the  created 
universe,  th^re  could  be  nothing  so  monstrous  and  so  horrible 
as  man. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  when  such  conceptions 
prevailed,  celibacy  and  repudiation  of  the  reproductive 
instinct  should  have  been  made  obligatory  on  the  clergy. 
The  words,  reported  by  St.  Matthew  (xix.  u,  12),  that 
"  there  be  eunuchs  who  have  made  themselves  eunuchs 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake  "  were  interpreted  by 
some  as  implying  a  voluntary  renunciation  of  marriage, 
while  others  insisted  on  the  literal  meaning  and  in 
consequence  mutilated  themselves  more  or  less  completely. 
The  breasts  of  women  were  removed  to  eradicate  the 
maternal  instincts.  But  it  is  only  the  sect  of  Skoptsy,  by 

*  Lecky. 

t  Buckle,  "  History  Of  Civilisation  in  England." 


INTRODUCTION  13 

no  means  a  small  body  in  Russia,  that  applies  the  gospel 
command  in  this  stringent  fashion.  The  wish  announced  by 
St.  Paul  (Corinthians  vii.  7),  "  I  say  therefore  to  the  un- 
married and  widows,  it  is  good  for  them  if  they  abide  even 
as  I ;  but  if  they  cannot  contain,  let  them  marry,  for  it  is 
better  to  marry  than  to  burn,"  soon  became  a  command, 
and  since  the  fourth  century  the  Catholic  Church  has  advo- 
cated celibacy  of  the  clergy,  although  it  was  not  enforced 
until  the  eleventh  century  (under  Gregory  VII.).  A  low 
view  of  human  nature  has  survived  in  the  Catholic  Church 
even  to  our  own  times.  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  in  his  "  Ency- 
clical on  Freemasons,"  proclaimed  it.*  "  Human  nature," 
he  said,  ''  was  contaminated  by  the  Fall,  and  as  it  is  there- 
fore much  more  prone  to  vice  than  to  virtue,  in  order  to 
attain  virtue  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  restrain  the  wild 
impulses  of  the  soul,  and  to  control  the  appetites  by  reason." 
Art  has  reflected  the  Christian  conception  of  human 
nature.  Sculpture,  which  played  so  great  a  part  in  the 
ancient  world,  and  which  was  intimately  associated  with 
Greek  ideals,  began  to  decline  rapidly  in  the  Christian  era. 
It  lasted  longer  in  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  East,  but  in 
Italy  it  was  almost  completely  forgotten  by  the  eighth 
century.  Painting  survived,  but  not  without  undergoing 
an  extraordinary  degeneration.  All  the  Italian  works  of 
art  of  the  Carlovingian  period,  displayed  the  utmost  indif- 
ference to  natural  form,  and  a  loss  of  the  sense  of  harmony 
and  beauty.  Later  on,  Italian  art  fell  lower  still.  "  No 
one  dreamed  any  longer  of  studying  nature  or  of  observing 
the  human  body.  An  epoch  in  which  the  interference  of 
supernatural  forces  was  generally  accepted,  and  in  which 

*  "  De  Secta  Massonum,"  Parisiis,  1884,  p.  9.  The  passage 
was  quoted  by  Brunetiere  in  the  "  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,"  1895, 
vol.  CXXVIL,  p.  116. 


i4  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

the  conception  of  the  universe  was  founded  on  a  contrast 
between  the  natural  and  the  supernatural,  could  not  admit 
in  its  art  the  rule  of  natural  law  or  a  natural  order  of 
events."  * 

The  intimate  connection  between  the  depreciation  of 
human  nature  due  to  Christian  doctrine  and  the  inferiority 
of  the  art  of  the  middle  ages  cannot  be  denied.  Taine  f 
writes  of  the  period  as  follows  :  "If  one  considers  the 
stained-glass  windows  or  the  images  in  the  cathedrals,  or 
the  rude  paintings,  it  appears  as  if  the  human  race  had 
become  degenerate  and  its  blood  had  been  impoverished  ; 
pale  saints,  distorted  martyrs,  virgins  with  flat  chests,  feet 
too  long  and  bony  hands,  hermits  withered  and  unsub- 
stantial, Christs  that  look  like  crushed  and  bleeding  earth- 
worms, processions  of  figures  that  are  wan,  and  stiffened, 
and  sad,  upon  whom  are  stamped  all  the  deformities  of 
misery  and  all  the  shrinking  timidity  of  the  oppressed." 

The  art  of  the  middle  ages  fell  lower  and  lower  until  the 
Renaissance,  with  its  return  to  the  Greek  ideal,  brought 
new  vigour.  The  great  masters  of  the  Renaissance  were  in 
addition  scientific  men  who  had  studied  mathematics  and 
who  employed  the  technique  of  mensuration  ;  such  were 
Alberti,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michel  Angelo,  and  others. 
The  return  to  the  Greek  ideals  and  to  nature  brought  with 
it  the  taste  for  beauty. 

When  the  ancient  spirit  was  born  again,  its  influence 
reached  science  and  even  religion,  and  the  Reformation 
was  a  defence  of  human  nature.  The  Lutheran  doctrines 
resumed  the  principle  of  a  "  development  as  complete  as 

*  Schnaase,  "  Geschichte  der  bildendan  Kiinste,  vol.  III.,  pp.  577, 
584,  and  vol.  IV.,  p.  718. 

t  "  Philosophic  de  1'Art,"  Fourth  Edition,  1885,  vol.  LXXXVIII., 
P.  352. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

possible,  of  all  the  natural  powers  "  of  man,  and  saw  in  that 
ideal  a  guide  for  humanity.  Compulsory  celibacy  was 
abolished,  and  free  play  was  given  to  all  the  tendencies  in 
conformity  with  the  laws  of  nature.* 

Besides  those  whose  religion  led  them  to  despise  the 
human  body,  there  have  been  many  savage  races  and 
tribes  who  have  practised  mutilations  of  the  body.  It 
would  be  a  long  list  were  I  to  set  out  all  the  modes  in  which 
the  human  body  has  been  disfigured.  Treatises  on  Ethno- 
graphy and  the  volumes  of  travellers  contain  a  multitude 
of  details  of  this  sort.  The  hair,  the  teeth  and  the  lips  have 
been  subjected  to  treatment  with  the  object  of  making 
them  as  unlike  the  natural  condition  as  is  possible.  Many 
of  the  lower  races  discolour  their  teeth,  or  remove  some  of 
them,  or  file  them  to  points.  Others  insert  in  the  lips 
pieces  of  wood,  of  stone,  or  of  bone.  A  whole  chapter 
might  be  occupied  with  an  account  of  the  disfiguring 
devices  of  tattooers.  The  skull,  the  breasts,  and  the  feet, 
have  all  been  subjected  to  deforming  treatment. 

Although  there  is  not  enough  evidence  to  set  down  these 
practices  to  the  existence  of  definite  and  self-conscious 
religious  or  philosophic  doctrine,  it  is  at  least  certain  that 
the  people  among  whom  they  occur  are  far  from  revering 
human  nature  in  the  fashion  of  the  Greeks,  but  rather 
attempt  to  distort  it  in  accordance  with  their  own  taste. 
Discontent  with  the  natural  conditions  of  existence  is,  as 
we  have  seen,  so  widespread  that  there  is  good  reason  for 
an  inquiry  as  to  the  existence  of  some  general  principle 
underlying  this  diversity  of  opinion  regarding  human 
nature.  I  have  already  shown  that  this  question  of  human 
nature  has  for  long  interested  mankind,  and  has  shared 

*  Reinhard,  "  System  der  christlichen  Moral,"  vol.  IV.,  1814, 
p.  831,  and  vol.  III.,  p.  14,  1813. 


1 6  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

largely  in  the  formation  of  ideas  of  the  good  and  the  beau- 
tiful. It  is  not  too  soon  to  submit  the  problem  to  rational 
investigation,  using  those  rigid  methods  of  science  which 
have  been  learned  in  our  epoch.  I  shall  try  to  give  an 
exposition  of  human  nature  in  its  strength  and  in  its  weak- 
ness. But  before  passing  to  man,  I  shall  survey  the  lower 
forms  of  life,  hoping  to  fix  some  landmarks  that  will  be 
useful  in  the  study  of  the  larger  problem. 


CHAPTER   II 

HARMONIES    AND    DISHARMONIES     AMONGST    BEINGS 
INFERIOR  TO  MAN 

The  organised  world  before  the  appearance  of  man  on  the 
earth — Absence  of  a  law  of  universal  progress — Fertilisation 
of  vanilla — The  part  played  by  insects  in  the  fertilisation  of 
orchids — Mechanism  by  which  insects  carry  the  pollen  of 
orchids — Habits  of  fossorial  wasps — Harmonies  in  nature 
— Useless  organs — Rudiments  of  the  pollinia  of  orchids — 
Disharmonies  in  nature — Unadapted  insects — Aberration 
of  instincts — Perversion  of  sexual  instinct — Attraction  of 
insects  by  light — Luminous  insects — Law  of  natural  selec- 
tion— Happiness  and  unhappiness  in  the  organised  world 

LONG  before  man  appeared  on  the  earth  animals  and 
plants  were  distributed  over  it.  Some  of  these  were  endowed 
with  but  vague  senses,  while  others  had  well-developed 
instincts,  and  some  even  a  certain  degree  of  intelligence 
which  they  applied  for  their  self-preservation  and  for  the 
propagation  of  their  own  kind. 

Many  species,  well  adapted  for  the  resistance  of  external 
influences,  have  survived  from  very  early  times  to  the 
present  day.  In  the  Carboniferous  period  birds  and  mammals 
did  not  yet  exist,  and  the  thick  forests,  with  undergrowths 
of  gigantic  ferns,  were  inhabited  by  large  numbers  of  arti- 
culated animals,  amongst  which  were  scorpions  and  insects. 
The  scorpions  of  that  time  resemble  in  every  way  those 
that  actually  live  at  the  present  day  in  tropical  countries  ; 
and  amongst  the  insects  of  that  early  epoch  were  some  very 


1 8  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

like  the  cockroaches  of  to-day.  Certain  tree-like  ferns  of 
the  present  time  are  also  very  similar  to  those  of  the  coal 
period.  Amongst  the  animals  the  bodies  of  which  are  pro- 
tected by  a  shell,  such  as  foraminifera  and  mollusca, 
certain  species  have  survived  even  from  an  earlier  time  than 
the  coal  period. 

In  contiast  with  this  extraordinary  survival,  there  are 
instances  of  the  complete  disappearance  of  numbers  of 
species  of  animals  and  plants.  In  early  times,  during  the 
Tertiary  epoch,  the  virgin  forests  of  Europe  were  inhabited 
by  a  large  number  of  monkeys,  of  which  fossil  remains  are 
now  found,  especially  in  Greece.  These  formerly  existed 
even  in  Europe,  and  some  anthropoid  apes  (Dryopithecus) 
have  left  traces  in  the  tertiary  deposits  of  France.*  These 
animals,  notwithstanding  that  their  organisation  was  supe- 
rior to  that  of  scorpions  and  cockroaches,  have  not  been 
able  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  altered  conditions  of  modern 
Europe.  A  similar  fate  has  come  upon  some  of  the  higher 
mammals,  such  as  the  mammoth  and  the  mastodon. 

These  facts  do  not  bear  testimony  to  the  prevalent  idea 
that  there  exists  in  nature  a  law  of  universal  progress  tending 
to  the  production  of  organisms  more  and  more  perfect  from 
the  point  of  view  of  complexity  of  structure.  It  is  incon- 
testable that  forms  higher  in  the  scale  of  life  have  developed 
only  after  the  appearance  of  lower  forms.  But  it  does  not 
follow  that  development  always  takes  a  progressive  march. 
Man  is  one  of  the  later  species  that  have  appeared  upon 
the  earth,  but  there  are  others  of  still  more  recent  date. 
It  is  very  probable  that  certain  species  of  lice  have  appeared 
subsequent  to  man,  particularly  the  clothes-louse  (Pediculm 
vestimenti}.  Amongst  the  true  parasites  which  live  only 
in  the  human  body  are  some  that  have  acquired  their 
*  Gaudry,  "  Mammiferes  tertiaires,"  p.  235,  1878. 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       19 

specific  characters  after  the  appearance  of  man.  Such  are 
certain  tape-worms  and  microbes,  such  as  a  species  of  gono- 
coccus.  It  is  therefore  amongst  parasites  and  not  to  man 
that  we  must  look  for  the  latest  products  of  creation. 

In  nature,  then,  there  is  no  blind  tendency  towards  pro- 
gress. Organisms  almost  innumerable  are  born  every  day 
with  variable  characters.  Those  amongst  them  which  are 
adapted  to  existing  circumstances  survive  and  produce  off- 
spring like  themselves,  but  many  do  not  reach  maturity,  and, 
living  only  for  a  short  time,  die  without  leaving  issue. 

To  give  the  reader  a  better  idea  of  adaptations  and 
of  their  importance  to  living  creatures,  it  will,  perhaps,  be 
as  well  to  devote  some  space  to  an  account  of  examples  of 
them.  Amongst  organisms  that  attract  our  attention  by 
their  pleasing  aspect,  there  are  not  many  that  can  rival 
flowering  plants.  Every  one  admires  the  great  beauty  of 
the  blossom  of  orchids.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these 
flowers  have  not  been  developed  to  satisfy  the  aesthetic 
tastes  of  man.  for  the  simple  reason  that  orchids  existed  for 
a  long  time  before  man's  appearance. 

Among  orchids  there  is  one  which,  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  has  been  cultivated  by  man  in  many  tropical 
countries.  This  is  the  Vanilla,  the  fruit  of  which  produces 
one  of  the  sweetest  of  spices. 

In  former  days  the  pods  of  only  the  wild  vanilla,  which 
is  an  undergrowth  of  the  forests  of  Mexico  and  South 
America,  were  gathered.  But  the  employment  of  vanilla 
to  flavour  chocolate  has  rendered  its  artificial  culture 
lucrative  ;  consequently  the  plant  has  been  transported  to 
several  warm  countries  where  it  could  be  acclimatised.  It 
has  flourished  and  borne  numerous  blossoms,  but  it  has 
never  produced  fruit  from  which  alone  the  aroma  is  obtained. 
As  the  question  of  the  sterility  of  the  vanilla  was  of  great 


20  THE    NATURE   OF    MAN 

practical  interest  to  the  cultivator,  the  matter  was  inves- 
tigated, and  it  was  found  that  the  flower  remained  sterile 
because  the  female  and  male  parts  could  not  come  in  contact. 
The  pistils  and  stamens  of  the  flower  are  well  developed,  but 
between  these  sexual  organs  is  a  membrane  which  prevents 
fertilisation.  After  this  discovery  was  made,  the  idea 
occurred  that  the  pollen  of  the  vanilla  flower  might  be 
transferred  artificially  to  the  stigma  of  the  pistil  so  as  to 
bring  about  "  artificial "  fertilisation.  A  young  black 
slave,  Edmond  Albius,  a  native  of  Reunion,  discovered 
in  1841  a  practical  method  by  which  the  male  and 
female  elements  of  the  vanilla  could  be  put  in  contact ; 
and  from  this  discovery  there  came  a  great  extension  of 
the  cultivation  of  the  orchid  in  many  countries.  At  a 
certain  period  a  small  bamboo  point  or  the  tooth  of  a  comb 
is  introduced  into  the  vanilla  flower,  and  in  this  way,  in 
a  short  time,  a  quantity  of  flowers  may  be  fertilised  and 
so  made  capable  of  bearing  mature  pods.* 

In  the  original  home  of  the  vanilla  the  intervention  of 
man  is  unnecessary.  In  Guiana  and  'Vlexico  fertilisation 
of  the  flower  is  the  work  of  small  bees  (of  the  genus  Meli- 
pona).  They  frequent  the  vanilla  flowers  to  extract  nectar, 
the  material  of  their  honey.  Small  humming-birds  also 
hover  over  the  vanilla  blossoms,  and  by  introducing  their 
bills  into  the  sexual  organs  of  the  flowers  bring  about  con- 
tact of  the  male  and  female  elements. 

Sterility  of  the  vanilla  in  the  countries  to  which  it  has 
been  introduced,  before  the  employment  of  artificial  fecun- 
dation, is  easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  in  these  countries 
there  are  no  insects  nor  humming-birds  capable  of  trans- 
porting the  pollen. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  vanilla  that  requires  the  co-opera- 
*  Delteil,  "  La  Vanille,"  Paris,  1897. 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       21 

tion  of  living  beings  to  produce  its  fruits.  It  is  the  case 
with  many  other  orchids.  In  the  flowers  of  these  the  pollen 
is  massed  together  and  cannot  be  transported  by  the  air. 
It  needs  the  aid  of  insects,  as  had  already  been  pointed  out 
by  Sprengell  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  above  all  by 
Darwin,  whose  splendid  investigations  are  the  basis  of  the 
following  passages.* 

Insects,  belonging  to  different  groups,  such  as  bees, 
wasps,  flies,  certain  beetles,  and  many  butterflies  and  moths, 
visit  orchids  to  sip  the  nectar  produced  by  the  plants  and 
stored  in  definite  parts  of  the  flowers.  In  order  that  their 
proboscis  may  reach  the  stores  of  sweet  juice,  the  insects 
inevitably  touch  first  the  upper  parts  of  the  flowers,  where 
the  anthers  are  present.  The  pollen  grains  are  clustered 
in  masses,  known  as  pollinia,  and  these  adhere  to  the  body 
of  the  visiting  insect  by  means  of  an  adhesive  fluid  which 
is  secreted  by  an  organ  of  the  flower  known  as  the  rostellum. 
In  this  way  the  pollinia  adhere  firmly,  it  may  be  to  the 
proboscis  of  butterflies,  or  to  the  head  or  any  other  part  of 
the  body  of  insects.  They  can  leave  the  flower  and  fly 
away  without  losing  the  adhering  pollinia,  and  in  this 
manner  they  serve  as  the  agents  for  sexual  contact 
and  for  fertilisation  of  the  orchids.  Meniere  relates  that 
a  person  who  kept  bees  near  the  garden  of  the  Faculte  de 
Toulouse  complained  that  they  returned  from  the  garden 
with  their  heads  covered  with  tiny  yellow  bodies  which  he 
was  unable  to  clean  off  from  them.  It  was  easy  to  recog- 
nise in  these  bodies  the  pollinia  of  orchids  very  firmly 
attached  to  the  bees'  heads.f 

*  Darwin,  "  The  Fertilisation  of  Orchids,"  Second  edition, 
London,  1877.  See  also  Miiller,  "Die  Befruchtung  der  Pflanzen 
durch  Insecten."  pp.  74-85,  Leipzig,  1873. 

f  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  botanique  de  France,  vol.  I.,  p.  370,  1854, 


22  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

When  an  insect,  bearing  these  pollinia,  introduces  itself 
into  another  flower  of  the  same  species  of  orchid,  it  inevit- 
ably comes  in  contact  with  the  female  apparatus,  more 
particularly  with  the  viscous  surface  of  the  stigma.  Some 
of  the  grains  of  pollen  contained  in  the  pollen-mass  adhere 
to  the  stigma  and  are  thus  enabled  to  fertilise  the  ovule. 
This  carriage  of  pollen  from  one  flower  to  another  brings 
about  a  crossing  which  is  necessary  for  the  production  of 
good  seed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  seed  which  is  the  result 
of  self-fertilisation  of  a  flower  is  inferior. 

An  examination  of  the  structure  and  form  of  the  flowers 
of  many  orchids  show  that  they  are  adapted  in  a  truly 
marvellous  way  to  the  visits  of  insects  that  convey  pollen. 
In  each  part  of  these  flowers  one  can  discern  some  useful 
arrangement  to  secure  cross-fertilisation. 

For  the  proper  transmission  of  pollen  it  is  necessary  that 
the  pollinia  should  adhere  very  firmly  to  the  body  of  the 
insects,  and  that  the  viscous  substance  which  holds  them 
together  should  have  time  to  solidify.  It  is  thus  of  great 
advantage  to  the  plant  if  the  insects  remain  for  a  consider- 
able time  on  the  flower.  In  several  orchids  the  nectar  is 
not  easily  accessible,  and  frequently  the  insect  has  to  search 
for  a  long  time  before  finding  what  it  desires,  and  some- 
times it  even  has  to  pierce  a  membranous  covering  before 
reaching  the  fluid.  The  operation  takes  a  certain  time, 
and  this  is  long  enough  to  allow  the  mucus  by  which  the 
pollinia  adhere  to  the  insect  to  set  firmly. 

In  the  case  of  orchids  the  mucus  of  which  sets  instan- 
taneously, there  is  no  reason  for  the  visit  of  the  insect  to 
be  prolonged.  In  such  cases  the  nectar  is  easy  to  extract, 
and  the  insect  finds  it  without  loss  of  time. 

Darwin,  after  describing  these  facts,  proceeds  to  say :  * 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  44. 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       23 

"  In  these  five  species"  (in  which  the  viscid  matter  "  is 
so  adhesive  that  it  serves  to  attach  the  pollinia  firmly  to 
the  insects  without  getting  hard  "),  "and  in  these  alone,  we 
find  copious  nectar  ready  stored  for  rapid  suction  in  open 
nectaries.  On  the  other  hand,  whenever  the  viscid  matter 
gets  hard  by  exposure  for  a  short  time  to  the  air,  it  would 
manifestly  be  advantageous  to  the  plant  if  insects  were 
delayed  in  obtaining  the  nectar  ;  and  in  all  such  species 
the  nectar  is  lodged  within  intercellular  spaces,  so  that 
it  can  be  obtained  only  by  the  inner  membrane  being  pene- 
trated at  several  points,  and  this  will  require  time.  If 
this  double  relation  is  accidental,  it  is  a  fortunate  accident 
for  the  plants  ;  but  I  cannot  believe  it  to  be  so,  and  it 
appears  to  me  one  of  the  most  wonderful  cases  of  adap- 
tation which  has  ever  been  recorded." 

Some  orchids  secrete  instead  of  nectar  a  clear  liquid  like 
water.  This  fluid  is  collected  in  a  petal  inserted  at  the 
lower  part  of  the  flower  and  shaped  into  a  deep  cup-shaped 
receptacle.  It  does  not  attract  insects,  but  by  wetting 
their  wings  compels  them  to  leave  the  flower  by  a  different 
exit  which  passes  close  to  the  reproductive  organs  (i.e., 
the  anther  and  the  stigma).  The  soft  linings  of  the  cup 
are  greedily  devoured  by  certain  insects,  particularly  by 
bees.  Dr.  Cruger,  who  observed  this,  has  often  seen  bees 
fall  into  the  cup  whereupon  their  wings  became  so  wet  as 
to  prevent  their  flying  away,  and  they  have  been  obliged 
to  get  out  by  the  channel  that  carries  off  the  waste  from 
the  reservoir.  As  the  saturated  bees  creep  along  the  narrow 
passage  after  their  involuntary  immersion,  they  come 
inevitably  in  contact  with  the  stigma  and  the  masses  of 
pollen.  The  latter  adhere  to  the  bodies  of  the  bees  and 
can  be  conveyed  to  the  sticky  stigma  of  a  neighbouring 
flower. 


FlG.  i. — Catasetum  saccatum  (from  "  La  Lindenia,"  Gand,  1890). 


HARMONIES   AND    DISHARMONIES       25 

In  other  orchids  (Catasetum,  Fig.  i),  the  male  elements 
are  discharged  by  a  spring-like  arrangement  on  the  body 
of  insects.  When  certain  parts  of  the  flowers  are  touched, 
the  pollinia  are  thrown  off  like  arrows,  which,  in  the  place 
of  the  barbs,  have  viscid  swellings.  "  The  insect,  disturbed 
by  so  sharp  a  blow,  or  after  having  eaten  its  fill,  flies  sooner 
or  later  away  to  a  female  plant  and,  whilst  standing  in  the 
same  position  as  before,  the  pollen-bearing  end  of  the  arrow 
is  inserted  into  the  stigmatic  cavity,  and  a  mass  of  pollen 
is  left  on  its  viscid  surface."  * 

After  giving  detailed  descriptions  of  the  cross-fertilisa- 
tion of  flowers  by  such  peculiar  means,  Darwin  makes  the 
following  remark  :  "  Who  would  have  been  bold  enough 
to  have  surmised  that  the  propagation  of  a  species  depended 
on  so  complex,  so  apparently  artificial,  and  yet  so  admirable 
an  arrangement  ?  "  | 

One  orchid  (Herminium  monorchis,  Fig.  2),  which  bears 
very  small  flowers,  is  remarkable  for  the  way  in  which  it 
is  fertilised  by  insects.  Only  very  small  insects  are  able 
to  penetrate  the  flowers.  The  space  being  very  limited 
these  minute  insects  can  enter  the  flower  only  in  a  particular 
way,  and  at  one  of  the  corners.  This  causes  the  pollinia 
to  become  attached  always  to  the  same  place,  which  is  on 
the  outer  side  of  one  of  the  two  front  legs.  When  the 
insect,  the  carrier  of  the  pollinia.  enters  a  second  flower, 
it  can  scarcely  fail  to  fertilise  the  stigma,  which  is  on  the 
corresponding  side.  Darwin  said  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  a  case  in  which  there  was  so  marvellously  complete 
an  adaptation  to  a  very  peculiar  mode  of  fertilisation  as 
the  little  flower  of  Herminium. 

In*   addition    to    orchids,   there    are    other    flowers    the 

*  Darwin,  loc.  cit.  p.   179. 
f  Ibid.  pp.  207-208. 


26  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

organisation  of  which  is  adapted  in  a  remarkable  way  to 


FlG.  2. — Herminium  monorchis 
(after  Sowerby,  "English  Botany,"  ix.  1869) 

fertilisation  by  insects.      But  to  find   perfect   harmony  in 
the  nature  of  living  beings  it  is  not  necessary  to  confine 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       27 

our  observations  to  flowers.  The  animal  world  furnishes  us 
with  numerous  examples.  To  avoid  going  into  the  details 
of  these,  I  shall  content  myself  with  a  description  of  the 
most  remarkable  instances. 

Every  one  has  seen,  flying  near  the  ground,  small,  slender, 
and  pretty  wasps.  From  time  to  time  these  bury  them- 
selves in  the  earth  or  sand,  and  re-appear  in  a  few  minutes. 
These  are  the  fossorial  wasps,  the  interesting  habits  of  which 
have  been  studied  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Fabre,  of  Avignon.  They 
are  not  gregarious,,  but  lead  solitary  lives  and  differ  in  their 
habits  from  their  congeners.  Bees  feed  their  larvae  with 
honey  and  pollen  which  they  take  to  them  during  the  whole 
period  of  their  development.  Wasps  are  carnivorous, 
predatory  insects,  and  bring  their  spoils  to  their  brood  of 
soft  and  feeble  larvae  which  are  unable  to  provide  for 
themselves.  Bees  and  most  wasps  look  after  the  welfare 
of  their  young  ones  in  the  fashion  of  human  parents  in 
nurseries. 

Fossorial  wasps  act  differently  ;  they  never  see  their 
young.  They  lay  their  eggs  in  burrows,  sunk  in  the  soil 
and  hermetically  sealed.  The  larvae  are  hatched  under- 
ground and  are  never  seen  by  the  mother.  Provision 
sufficient  for  their  development,  however,  is  made  in 
advance.  Before  depositing  eggs,  the  females  sink  the 
burrows,  and  fill  them  with  the  spoils  of  the  chase,  which 
consist  sometimes  of  spiders  and  sometimes  of  crickets  or 
other  insects.  Each  species  of  fossorial  wasps  preys  on 
a  particular  kind  of  insect  or  on  its  allies,  for  the  purpose 
of  provisioning  the  burrows.  These  wasps  are  most  fas- 
tidious in  the  choice  of  their  food,  and  behave  like  collectors 
whose  interest  is  only  in  a  single  or  a  few  species  of  small 
animals.  Leon  Dufour,  the  well-known  entomologist,  was 
much  struck  by  the  ability  displayed  by  certain  wasps 


28  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

(Cerceris,  Fig.  3)  in  seeking  out  and  capturing  the  pretty 
beetles  of  the  genus  Buprestis,  which  he  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  finding  himself.  In  making  a  study  of  these 
beetles  he  collected  the  material  from  the  burrows  of 
Cerceris,  and  so  avoided  the  laborious  task  of  obtaining 
them  in  the  natural  state  of  free- 
dom. The  burrows  were  filled 
with  motionless,  but  perfectly 
well  preserved,  Buprestes.  Al- 
though dead  Coleoptera  dried  up 
in  a  short  time,  those  recovered 
from  the  burrows  remained  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation  for 
weeks.  Leon  Dufour  came  to  the 

FIG.  3. — Cerceris  (after  Buffon). 

conclusion    that  the  Cerceris  kill 

their   prey,  but   inject  into  them   some  antiseptic   liquid 
which  perfectly  preserves  their  flesh  and  intestines. 

J.  H.  Fabre  pursued  the  study  of  the  habits  of  fossorial 
wasps  further.  He  ascertained  that  the  captured  insects 
were  not  dead,  but  only  paralysed.  The  continuance  of  the 
function  of  certain  organs  demonstrated  that  the  Buprestes, 
the  weevils  and  other  small  creatures  collected  in  the  burrows 
of  fossorial  wasps,  were  alive.  They  could  even  perform 
some  slight  movements,  but  they  were  incapable  of  loco- 
motion, and  so  could  not  escape.  The  mechanism  of  this 
paralysis,  as  far  as  could  be  ascertained  by  Fabre,  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  phenomena  in  nature.  The  fos- 
sorial wasps,  guided  by  their  instinct,  immediately  after 
having  seized  an  insect  or  spider,  bury  their  sting  in  the 
nervous  centre  which  controls  the  movements  of  the  legs. 
When  animals  with  soft  bodies,  such  as  spiders  and  young 
crickets,  are  attacked,  the  operation  does  not  present  any 
difficulties.  But  Coleoptera  in  general,  and  the  Buprestes 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       29 

and  weevils  in  particular,  are  furnished  with  a  very  hard 
covering  which  cannot  be  perforated  by  the  small  and 
slender  sting  of  a  fossorial  wasp.  To  gain  their  object  the 
wasps  probe  exactly  between  the  first  and  second  pair  of 
legs  in  the  median  line  of  the  under  surface  of  the  thorax. 
The  skin  is  thinner  at  this  spot,  and  they  introduce  their 
sting  into  the  ganglia  from  which  arise  the  nerves  of  the 
legs.  In  the  case  with  the  Buprestes  these  ganglia  are 
set  close  to  one  another,  and  a  single  prick  suffices  to  affect 
the  nervous  centres  of  three  pairs  of  legs.  Once  the  sting 
has  been  inserted  in  this  way  the  Buprestis  becomes  para- 
lysed, but  lives  for  many  days.  "  The  Cerceris  which  preys 
on  Coleoptera,"  writes  Fabre,*  "  appears  to  have  made  its 
choice  according  to  the  dictates  of  an  exact  physiology  and 
anatomy.  It  is  impossible  to  see  in  its  proceedings  the 
results  of  happy  chance  ;  more  than  chance  is  required  to 
explain  adaptations  so  precise." 

After  having  filled  the  burrow  with  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  insects  or  spiders,  fossorial  wasps  lay  their  eggs  and  care- 
fully close  up  the  entrance.  In  due  course  the  larva  is 
hatched,  and  devours  the  food  that  it  finds  close  at  hand. 
If  the  gathered  insects  were  not  paralysed,  they  could 
easily  escape  from  their  prison ;  if  they  were  dead, 
putrefaction  or  desiccation  (according  to  circumstances) 
would  render  them  unfit  for  the  larvae.  It  is  therefore 
sheer  necessity  that  is  the  factor  in  the  development  of 
this  marvellous  instinct  that  induces  the  fossorial  wasps 
to  attack  the  nervous  centres  of  their  prey.  When  one 
insect  has  been  devoured,  the  larva  proceeds  to  another, 
and  so  on,  until  it  is  fully  grown,  whereupon  it  envelops 
itself  in  a  case  that  protects  it  during  the  winter  and 

*  Fabre,  "  Souvenirs  entomologiques,"  vol.  I.,  pp.  71-78,  Pans, 
1879. 


30  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

following  spring.  In  summer  it  changes  at  first  into  a 
chrysalis,  and  later  into  a  perfect  insect.  It  frees  itself  from 
the  cocoon,  takes  to  flight,  and  enters  upon  life  like  that 
of  its  mother,  which  it  has  never  seen. 

Of  the  harmonious  phenomena  in  nature  it  is  indeed 
difficult  to  find  other  examples  so  perfect  as  those  of  the  habits 
of  these  fossorial  wasps,  or  of  the  mechanism  for  the  fer- 
tilisation of  orchids.  These  harmonies  in  nature  are 
constantly  met  with  in  the  world  of  living  beings,  and  it 
is  not  astonishing  that  they  have  for  a  long  time  attracted 
the  attention  of  many  observers  and  philosophers.  As  it 
seemed  impossible  to  attribute  them  to  the  organisms  them- 
selves, because  of  the  low  rank  and  lack  of  intelligence  of 
these,  it  has  seemed  only  natural  to  set  them  down  as  a 
manifestation  of  a  superior  force  which  organises  and 
directs  all  natural  phenomena.  This  argument,  however, 
omits  one  side  of  the  medal. 

Any  close  investigation  of  organisation  and  life  reveals 
that,  beside  many  most  perfect  harmonies,  there  are  facts 
which  prove  the  existence  of  incomplete  harmony  or  even 
absolute  disharmony.  The  examination  of  the  flowers  of 
orchids  would  lead  one  to  the  belief  that  each  part,  even  the 
smallest  and  apparently  most  insignificant,  has  its  role  in 
the  mechanism  for  fertilisation  and  cross-fertilisation.  In 
reality  it  is  not  so.  There  are  in  certain  orchids  organs 
which  do  not  fulfil  any  function. 

Even  among  the  species  of  Catasetum,  in  which  the  pol- 
linia  are  thrown  with  force  on  the  bodies  of  insects,  there  are 
some  female  flowers  in  which  the  male  organs  are  rudi- 
mentary and  without  utility.  In  these  flowers,  according  to 
Darwin,*  "  the  two  membranous  sacks  containing  the 
rudimentary  pollen-masses  never  open,  but  they  easily 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  201. 


HARMONIES   AND    DISHARMONIES       31 

separate  from  each  other  and  from  the  anther.  The  tissue 
of  which  they  are  formed  is  thick  and  pulpy.  Like  most 
rudimentary  parts,  the  pollen-masses  vary  much  in  size 
and  form  ;  they  are  only  about  one-tenth  of  the  bulk  of 
those  of  the  male."  There  are  then,  without  doubt,  some 
structures  that  are  of  no  service. 

The  existence  of  these  rudimentary  pollinia,  incapable 
of  being  transported  or  of  fertilising  the  female  element,  is 
easily  explained  by  the  supposition  that  formerly  the 
flowers  of  the  Catasetum  were  true  hermaphrodites,  but  that 
in  the  course  of  time  the  male  organs  have  become  incom- 
pletely atrophied  in  certain  flowers,  in  which,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  female  part  has  increased.  The  occurrence  of 
an  actual  degeneration  is  shown  by  the  existence  of  rudi- 
ments of  the  pollinia  too  insignificant  to  accomplish  their 
normal  functions. 

Rudimentary  and  useless  organs  are  widely  distributed, 
and  we  find  them  in  many  places.  Familiar  instances  are 
the  atrophied  eyes  of  animals  that  live  in  the  dark,  and 
the  sometimes  rudimentary  sexual  organs  of  many  plants 
and  animals. 

Not  only  are  orchids  and  other  flowers  adapted  to  fer- 
tilisation by  means  of  insects,  but  many  insects  display 
special  adaptations  to  their  habit  of  visiting  flowers.  Butter- 
flies, bees,  and  many  other  insects,  possess  mouth  organs 
modified  for  the  purpose  of  penetrating  flowers  to  secure 
nectar  or  pollen.  Other  insects,  again,  are  not  so  fortunate 
in  this  respect.  Darwin  *  on  one  occasion  "  found  an 
extremely  minute  Hymenopterous  insect  vainly  struggling 
to  escape,  with  its  head  cemented  by  the  hardened  viscid 
matter  to  the  crest  of  the  rostellum  and  to  the  tips  of  the 
pollinia  (of  an  orchid,  Listera  ovata,  Fig.  4).  The  insect 
*  Loc.  cit.  pp.  120-121. 


THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 


was  not  so  large  as  one  of  the  pollinia,  and  after  causing  the 
explosion  had  not  strength  enough  to  re- 
move them  ;  it  was  punished  for  attempt- 
ing a  work  beyond  its  strength,  and 
perished  miserably." 

Many  insects,  well  adapted  for  the  pur- 
pose, delight  themselves  by  sucking  the 
nectar  of  flowers.  Many  others  would  wish 
to  do  the  same,  but  their  want  of  adapta- 
tion baffles  them.  A  small  "lady-bird" 
loves  the  sweet  juice  of  flowers ;  it  tries 
often  to  suck  the  nectar  of  the  dandelion, 
but  without  success.  Hermann  Miiller  * 
has  described  the  behaviour  of  this  insect 
in  procuring  the  nectar  of  Erodium  cicu- 
torium.  "  The  awkward  way  in  which  this 
beetle,  unadapted  to  feed  on  the  plants, 
endeavours  to  obtain  the  honey,  is  too 
ludicrous  not  to  be  mentioned.  After  taking 
up  a  position  on  the  petal,  it  puts  its 
mouth  in  the  direction  of  one  of  the  honey- 
cups  which  are  situated  on  both  sides  of 
the  base  of  the  petal.  The  petal  soon 
breaks  off,  upon  which  the  insect  fixes 
itself  on  a  neighbouring  sepal  or  falls  to 
the  ground  with  the  petal.  In  the  first 
case  it  proceeds  to  creep  over  the  flower 
and  ends  by  detaching  all  the  petals  ;  in 
the  other  case,  on  recovering  from  the 
shock,  it  quickly  ascends  another  stem  of 
the  same  plant  and  begins  again.  I  have 
seen  the  same  lady-bird  fall  four  times  in 

*  "  Die  Befruchtung  der  Blumen  durch  Insekten,"  p.  167,  1873. 


FlG.  4. — Listera  ovata 
(after  Barla, ' '  Flora  of 
Nice,"  1868). 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       33 

succession  with  petals  which  it  had  detached  without  gaining 
wisdom." 

The  instincts  of  insects,  well  developed  for  certain  func- 
tions, often  present  aberrations  more  or  less  whimsical  and 
remarkable.  The  caterpillars  of  some  butterflies,  before 
changing  into  chrysalids,  envelop  themselves  in  a  well- 
woven  cocoon  capable  of  protecting  them  from  noxious 
influences.  Protected  by  this  covering,  the  caterpillar 
changes  into  a  chrysalid.  and  later  into  a  butterfly,  which 
perforates  the  end  of  the- cocoon  in  order  to  emerge.  When 
any  external  agency  destroys  the  cocoon,  normal  meta- 
morphosis becomes  impossible,  and  the  larva  dies  before 
its  maturity.  Fabre  *  questioned  whether  the  caterpillar 
during  the  time  of  the  weaving  of  the  Cocoon  was  capable 
of  repairing  it  if  it  was  damaged.  For  this  object  he  cut 
with  a  pair  of  scissors  the  end  of  a  cocoon  in  the  course 
of  construction  by  the  caterpillar  of  the  beautiful  peacock- 
butterfly.  In  spite  of  the  hole  thus  produced,  the  cater- 
pillar continued  its  ordinary  work  without  suspicion  that 
it  would  be  of  no  avail.  On  this  occasion  "  the  caterpillar 
of  the  peacock-butterfly,  notwithstanding  the  certain  fate 
of  the  future  butterfly,  continued  peaceably  to  spin,  without 
in  the  least  modifying  the  regular  progress  of  its  labour ; 
when  the  time  had  arrived  for  the  putting  in  of  the  last 
defensive  stitches  it  placed  them  in  the  perilous  breach, 
but  neglected  to  mend  the  destroyed  part  of  the  barricade. 
It  performed  its  vain  task,  ignoring  what  was  indispensable 
for  success." 

Even  amongst  fossorial  wasps,  the  instincts  of  which  are 

so  admirably  developed,  harmony  is  far  from  perfect.   Fabre 

endeavoured  to  ascertain  what  effect  was  produced  on  these 

insects  by  taking  away  the  egg  laid  in  the  burrow.     He 

*  "  Souvenirs  entomologiques,"  Fourth  series,  Paris,  1847, 

C 


34  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

chose  for  this  experiment  the  fossorial  wasp  Pelopceus 
(Fig.  5),  which  preys  on  spiders.  He  took  away  the  egg  which 
had  been  deposited  in  a  carefully-prepared  burrow,  and 
watched  the  subsequent  manoeuvres.  "  The  Pelopceus  con- 
tinued to  store  up  spiders  for  the 
stolen  egg  ;  it  gathered  provisions, 
that  were  not  to  be  eaten  ;  it 
redoubled  its  efforts  to  replenish 
a  larder  that  I  was  constantly 
robbing  with  my  forceps."  The 
insect  neither  discontinued  its 
fruitless  task  nor  appeared  to  be 
aware  of  its  fruitlessness.  Here, 
then,  is  an  example  of  a  foiled 
maternal  instinct  that  gained  no 
useful  end. 

In  connection  with  such  a  slaughter  for  the  benefit  of  a 
progeny  that  will  never  exist,  I  may  mention  observations 
relating  to  a  quite  different  order  of  phenomena.  There 
are  many  creatures  that  kill  and  devour  their  progeny.  Not 
infrequently  rabbits  kill  and  devour  all  their  progeny,  or 
leave  them  to  die  without  food  or  care.  Sometimes 
the  culprits  are  young  rabbits  without  experience ;  but 
this  aberration  of  instinct  is  also  met  with  in  old  rabbits, 
which  once  and  for  all  have  contracted  the  habit  of  aban- 
doning or  eating  their  young.  Some  females  of  other  species 
of  mammals  and  of  birds  have  often  been  surprised  in  the 
act  of  deserting  or  of  killing  their  offspring. 

Perversion  of  sexual  instinct  is  frequent  enough  amongst 
animals.  Huber  *  states  that  when  male  ants  have  a  lack 
of  females  they  ravish  the  workers,  the  attacks  being  fatal> 

*  "  Recherches  sur  les  Mceurs  des  Founnis  indigenes,"  Paris, 
iStO. 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       35 

as  the  sexual  organs  are  incompletely  developed  and 
functionally  incapable.  Abnormal  pairing  has  also  been 
observed  in  the  stag-beetle  of  the  genus  Lucanus,  in  bees, 
and,  above  all,  in  cockchafers.*  Higher  animals,  such  as 
dogs,  furnish  analogous  examples  of  sexual  perversion. 

Onanism  is  well  known  amongst  mammals.  It  is  fre- 
quent among  monkeys  in  menageries,  and  also  in  rutting 
stags,  the  latter  discharging  the  seminal  fluid  by  friction 
with  trees.  Stallions  and  mares  have  often  been  observed 
in  the  act  of  satisfying  their  sexual  appetites  by  abnormal 
means.  There  are  several  other  species  (dogs,  bears,  cha- 
mois, elephants,  parrakeets,  etc.,)  which  resort  to  onanism.f 

These  disharmonious  instincts  do  not  in  the  least  cause 
the  death  of  the  animals  that  manifest  them.  But  there 
exist  in  nature  instinctive  aberrations  much  more  dangerous. 
Who  has  not  seen  in  the  summer  numerous  insects  gathered 
round  lamps  and  candles,  attracted  by  the  light  ?  Among 
these  are  Coleoptera,  Neuroptera  (Phryganea),  Ephemera, and, 
most  frequently  of  all,  small  nocturnal  Lepidoptera.  After 
flying  round  and  round  the  light  several  times,  they  singe 
their  wings  and  die  in  numbers.  This  instinct  is  so  con- 
stant and  so  developed  amongst  many  of  these  insects,  that 
it  ha»  been  used  against  them  for  their  own  destruction. 
Thus  amongst  the  means  advocated  for  destroying  a  moth, 
Botys  sticticalis,  the  caterpillars  of  which  devour  cereals  and 
beetroot,  J  is  the  lighting  of  numerous  fires  in  the  fields. 
The  moths,  attracted  by  the  light,  fall  in  the  flames  and 
die  in  quantities. 

When  the  usual  swarms  of  may-flies  emerge  from  the 
water,  fishers  make  straw  fires  on  their  boats,  and  the 

*  Fere,  "  L'Instinct  sexuel,"  Second  Edition,  p.  76,  Paris,  1902. 
f  Moll,  "  Untersuch.  ub.d.  Libido  sexualis,"  vol.  II.  pp.  372,  373. 
%  Koeppen,  "Insectes  invisibles,"  vol.  II.  p.  237, 1883.  (In  Russian.) 


36  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

insects  singe  their  wings.  The  innumerable  bodies  incap- 
able of  flight  fall  into  the  water,  and  provide  a  coveted 
food  for  the  fish.*  This  disharmonious  and  fatal  instinct  is 
displayed  chiefly  by  nocturnal  insects  that  rest  during  the 
day  and  do  not  leave  their  retreats  till  after  sunset.  In 
the  cornfields  Coleoptera  of  the  genera  A  nisoplia  and  Rhizo- 
trogus,  resembling  each  other  in  form  and  general  appear- 
ance, are  to  be  found.  When  a  fire  is  lighted  in  the  darkness 
of  the  night  it  is  only  the  Rhizotrogus  that  approaches  it 
at  the  risk  of  its  life.  The  Anisoplia  remains  quiet  in  the 
midst  of  the  corn.  The  latter  kind  of  beetle  pairs  during 
the  day,  while  the  Rhizotrogi  satisfy  their  sexual  desires 
during  the  night.  Moreover,  it  is  the  males  only  of  this 
species  that  fly  about  in  the  darkness  and  approach  the 
fire,  whilst  the  females  rest  at  home  in  the  plants. f  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  light  induces  a  sort  of  sexual  excite- 
ment in  these  male  beetles.  The  males,  searching  for  the 
female,  believe  her  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  towards 
which  they  fly  without  being  conscious  of  the  danger  they 
incur. 

Such  an  interpretation  of  this  disharmonious  and  suicidal 
instinct  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  moths  attracted 
by  fire  are  also  almost  exclusively  males.  Moreover,  ento- 
mologists have  advised  against  the  lighting  of  fires  by  agri- 
culturists in  the  belief  that  they  destroy  the  noxious  Botys, 
as  they  maintain  that  the  females  are  not  attracted.  These 
latter  therefore  live  on,  and,  being  capable  of  laying  eggs, 
produce  a  generation  of  voracious  caterpillars. 

Of  the  Ephemera  attracted  by  fire  in  such  great  quantities 
males  are  by  far  the  more  numerous.  It  is  therefore  really 
very  probable  that  the  mad  excitement  which  leads  to  the 

*  Swammerdam,  "  Biblia  Naturae,"  Leydae,  1737. 
t  Brehm,  "  Les  Insectes,"  edit.  fran9.,  vol.  I.,  p.  206. 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       37 

destruction  of  so  many  male  insects,  represents  a  sort  of 
sexual  aberration.  In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that,  amongst  Coleoptera,  species  exist  of  which  the 
females,  hidden  in  the  grass,  produce  intense  light  which 
attracts  the  males.  In  the  common  glow-worm,  the  female, 
which  is  devoid  of  wings,  alone  shines  with  the  familiar 
greenish  glitter.  Even  in  species  of  which  the  two  sexes 
are  luminous,  the  female  shines  more  vividly.  It  is  true 
that  there  are  some  beetles  with  luminous  larvae,  a  fact  that 
led  Darwin  *  to  remark  that  the  production  of  light  by 
insects  may  serve  to  frighten  enemies.  This  is  possible, 
and  it  is  also  possible  that  certain  insects  make  use 
of  their  luminosity  to  light  their  way  in  the  darkness. f 
But,  notwithstanding  this,  the  sexual  character  of  the 
luminous  organ  is  so  manifest  in  certain  species  that  it  is 
impossible  to  doubt  its  function  as  a  means  of  attracting 
the  male. 

In  conclusion  I  may  say  that  it  is  not  my  purpose  at 
present  to  discuss  the  meaning  of  an  instinct  so  fatal  to 
insect-life.  I  wish  only  to  point  out  the  frequency  of  the 
natural  occurrence  of  disharmony,  so  that  the  satisfaction 

an  instinct  is  fatal  to  so  many  of  its  possessors. 

It  is  plain  that  an  instinct,  or  any  other  form  of  dishar- 
mony leading  to  destruction,  cannot  increase,  or  even  endure 
very  long.  The  perversion  of  the  maternal  instinct  tending 
to  abandonment  of  the  young  is  destructive  to  the  stock. 
In  consequence,  individuals  affected  by  it  do  not  have  the 
opportunity  of  transmitting  the  perversion.  If  all  rabbits, 
or  a  majority  of  them,  left  their  young  to  die  through 
neglect,  it  is  evident  that  the  species  would  soon  die  out. 

*  "  Descent  of  Man  and  Selection  in  Relation  to  Sex,"  vol.  I., 
chap.  10,  p.  345. 

f  R.  Dubois,  "  Les  Elaterides  lumineux,"  p.  209,  Meulan,  1886. 


3  8  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

On  the  contrary,  mothers,  guided  by  their  instinct  to  nourish 
and  foster  their  offspring,  will  produce  a  vigorous  generation 
capable  of  transmitting  the  healthy  maternal  instinct  so 
essential  for  the  preservation  of  the  species.  For  such  a 
reason  harmonious  characters  are  more  abundant  in  nature 
than  injurious  peculiarities.  The  latter,  because  they  are 
injurious  to  the  individual  and  to  the  species,  cannot  per- 
petuate themselves  indefinitely. 

In  this  way  there  comes  about  a  constant  selection  of 
characters.  The  useful  qualities  are  handed  down  and 
preserved,  while  noxious  characters  perish  and  so  disappear. 
Although  disharmonies  tend  to  the  destruction  of  a  species, 
they  may  themselves  disappear  without  having  destroyed 
the  race  in  which  they  occur. 

This  continuous  process  of  natural  selection,  which  offers 
so  good  an  explanation  of  the  transmutation  and  origin  of 
species  by  means  of  preservation  of  useful  and  destruction 
of  harmful  characters,  was  discovered  by  Darwin  and 
Wallace,  and  was  established  by  the  splendid  researches 
of  the  former  of  these. 

Long  before  the  appearance  of  man  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  there  were  some  happy  beings  well  adapted  to  their 
environment,  and  some  unhappy  creatures  that  followed 
disharmonious  instincts  so  as  to  imperil  or  to  destroy  their 
lives.  Were  such  creatures  capable  of  reflection  and  com- 
munication, plainly  the  fortunate  among  them,  such  as 
orchids  and  fossorial  wasps,  would  be  on  the  side  of  the 
optimists ;  they  would  declare  this  the  best  of  all  possible 
worlds,  and  insist  that,  to  secure  happiness  it  is  necessary 
only  to  follow  natural  instincts.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
disharmonious  creatures,  those  ill  adapted  to  the  conditions 
of  life,  would  be  pessimistic  philosophers.  Consider  the  case 
of  the  lady-bird,  driven  by  hunger  and  with  a  preference 


HARMONIES   AND   DISHARMONIES       39 

for  honey,  which  searches  for  it  on  flowers  and  meets 
only  with  failure,  or  of  insects  driven  by  their  instincts  into 
the  flames,  only  to  lose  their  wings  and  their  lives ;  such 
creatures,  plainly,  would  express  as  their  idea  of  the  world 
that  it  was  fashioned  abominably,  and  that  existence  was 
a  mistake. 

As  for  man,  the  creature  most  interesting  to  us,  in  what 
category  does  he  fall  ?  Is  he  a  being  whose  nature  is  in 
harmony  with  the  conditions  in  which  he  has  to  live,  or  is 
he  out  of  harmony  with  his  environment  ?  A  critical 
examination  is  needed  to  answer  these  questions,  and  to 
such  an  examination  the  pages  to  follow  are  devoted. 


CHAPTER    III 

SIMIAN  ORIGIN  OF  MAN 

Relationship  of  the  human  species  with  anthropoid  apes — 
Analogies  in  the  dentition,  in  the  organisation  of  the  limbs 
and  of  the  brain — Resemblance  of  the  vermiform  appendage 
of  man  and  anthropoids — Analogy  between  the  placenta 
and  foetus  of  man  and  anthropoid  apes — Blood  relation- 
ship of  man  and  monkeys  shown  by  serums  and  pre- 
cipitates— Transmutation  of  species — Sudden  transition 
from  monkey  to  man — J.  Inaudi,  the  calculator,  as  an 
example  of  the  sudden  appearance  of  characters  in  the 
human  species — Rudimentary  organs  in  man — Proportion 
of  progressive  and  retrogressive  organs  in  the  organisation 
of  man 

To  understand  human  nature  it  is  necessary  first  to  give 
an  account  of  the  origin  of  man.  This  question  has  pre- 
occupied mankind  for  ages,  and  for  a  long  time  it  was 
believed  that  a  solution  of  the  problem  was  to  be  found  in 
religious  dogmas.  Man  was  regarded  as  being  of  super- 
natural origin,  the  result  of  a  special  creation.  Scientific 
criticism  has  now  shown  that  there  are  no  grounds  for  such 
a  conclusion. 

Nearly  half  a  century  ago  Darwin  applied  to  man  his 
discovery  of  the  principle  of  natural  selection,  and  of  the 
part  played  by  that  in  the  origin  and  transmutation  of 
species.  Soon  after  the  publication  of  the  "  Origin  of 
Species,"  attention  was  given  to  the  special  case  of  man. 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN    OF    MAN  41 

In  1863  Huxley  *  gave  an  admirable  review  of  the  pro- 
blem in  his  work  on  "  Man's  Place  in  Nature."  He  brought 
forward  arguments  of  the  highest  scientific  validity  in 
support  of  the  thesis  that  man  is  descended  from  animals, 
and  that  he  is  a  mammal  most  nearly  related  to  monkeys, 
and  among  these  to  the  anthropoid  apes.  In  spite  of  this 
masterly  exposition,  there  are  still  persons  of  high  intel- 
ligence and  superior  education  who  declare  that  science  has 
not  yet  answered  the  question  as  to  whence  he  came,  and 
that  the  theory  of  evolution  will  never  provide  an  answer. f 
Close  examination  of  the  structure  of  man  has  proved,  in 
the  most  definite  fashion,  the  existence  of  a  near  kinship 
with  the  higher  monkeys,  or  anthropoids.  When  the  chim- 
panzee and  the  ourang-outang  were  discovered,  comparison 
became  inevitable,  and  many  naturalists,  including  the  great 
Linnaeus,  saw  that  the  human  race  must  find  its  place  in 
classification  near  the  anthropoids. 

Now  that  all  the  details  of  the  human  organisation  have 
been  studied,  and  the  anatomical  structures  of  man  and 
large  monkeys  without  tails  have  been  compared,  bone 
with  bone  and  muscle  with  muscle,  a  truly  astonishing 
analogy  between  these  organisms  is  made  manifest,  an  analogy 
apparent  in  every  detail.  It  is  known  that  in  the  natural 
history  of  mammals  the  teeth  play  an  important  part  as 
a  means  of  determining  differences  and  relationships.  The 
dentition  of  man  bears  a  very  great  resemblance  to  that 
of  anthropoids.  Every  one  knows  the  milk  teeth  and  the 
Permanent  teeth  of  man.  The  anthropoid  apes  bear  in  this 
respect  an  astonishing  likeness  to  man.  The  number 
(thirty-two  in  the  adult),  the  form  and  general  arrangement 

*  Republished,  with  other  essays,  as  "  Man's  Place  in  Nature," 
Macmillan,  London,  1894. 

f  Brunetiere,  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  Jan.  i,  7895,  p.  99. 


42  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

of  the  crown,  are  identical  in  man  and  anthropoid  apes. 
The  differences  are  to  be  found  only  in  minor  details,  such 
as  the  exact  shape  and  relative  dimensions  and  the  number 
of  cusps.  It  can  be  said  in  a  general  way  that  in  the  anthro- 
poid apes  the  teeth  are  more  strongly  developed  than  in 
man.  The  canines  are  much  longer  and  the  roots  of  the 
pre-molars  are  more  complex  in  the  gorilla  than  in  man. 

But  the  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of,  that  all  these  differ- 
ences are  less  pronounced  than  those  which  exist  between 
the  dentition  of  anthropoid  apes  and  that  of  all  other 
monkeys.  Even  in  the  cynocephalous  monkeys,  those  that 
most  nearly  approach  the  anthropoids,  the  teeth  exhibit 
marked  differences.  Thus,  the  forms  of  the  upper  molars 
are  quite  different  in  the  baboon  and  in  the  gorilla.  The 
canines  are  longer,  and  the  pre-molars  and  molars  are  still 
more  complex  in  the  baboon. 

In  the  monkeys  of  the  New  World,  the  dentition  differs 
still  more  from  that  of  man  and  anthropoids.  Instead  of 

.thirty-two  teeth,  they  possess  thirty-six  in  the  adult  con- 
dition. The  number  of  pre-molars  is  twelve  instead  of 
eight.  The  general  form  and  the  crowns  of  the  molars  are 
very  different  from  those  of  anthropoid  apes. 

These  considerations  led  Huxley  to  conclude  that  "  it 
is  obvious  that,  greatly  as  the  dentition  of  the  highest  ape 
differs  from  that  of  man,  it  differs  far  more  widely  from  that 

'of  the  lower  and  lowest  apes."  * 

Another  character  which  shows  that  anthropoids  are 
nearer  man  than  other  monkeys  is  furnished  by  the  ana- 
tomy of  the  sacrum.  In  monkeys  as  a  whole  the  sacrum 
is  composed  of  three,  or  rarely  four,  vertebrae,  while  in 
anthropoid  apes  it  contains  five,  that  is  to  say  just  as  many 
as  in  man. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  116. 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN   OF    MAN  43 

The  whole  skeleton,  and  particularly  the  skull  of  man,  and 
the  higher  monkeys,  present  certainly  some  marked  differ- 
ences ;  but  here  again  the  differences  are  less  than  those 
between  the  anthropoid  apes  and  other  monkeys.  As 
regards  the  osteology  the  proposition  laid  down  by  Huxley 
is  just.  "  So  that,  for  the  skull,  no  less  than  for  the  skeleton 
in  general,  the  proposition  holds  good,  that  the  differences 
between  man  and  the  gorilla  are  of  smaller  value  than  those 
between  the  gorilla  and  some  other  apes."  * 

The  believers  in  the  doctrine  that  the  human  species  is 
essentially  distinct  from  all  the  known  monkeys  have  laid 
great  stress  on  the  difference  between  the  foot  of  man  and 
that  of  anthropoid  apes.  This  difference  cannot  be  denied. 
Man  assumes  the  direct  posture  habitually,  while  monkeys, 
even  the  highest  of  them,  walk  on  two  legs  only  occasion  • 
ally.  There  has  followed  from  this  a.  greater  development 
of  the  feet  in  monkeys.  Yet  this  difference  ought  not  to 
be  exaggerated.  It  has  been  sought  to  prove  that  monkeys 
are  "  quadrumanous,"  and  that  their  hind  legs  terminate 
in  "  hind-hands."  .But  it  is  clearly  shown  that  in  all  essen- 
tial respects  the  hinder  limb  of  the  gorilla  terminates  in  as 
true  a  foot  as  that  of  man.f  "  The  hind  limb  of  the  gorilla, 
therefore,  ends  in  a  true  foot,  with  a  very  movable  great 
toe.  It  is  a  prehensile  foot,  indeed,  but  is  in  no  sense  a 
hand  ;  it  is  a  foot  which  differs  from  that  of  man  not  in ' 
any  fundamental  character,  but  in  mere  proportions,  in 
the  degree  of  mobility,  and  in  the  secondary  arrangement 
of  its  parts."  | 

In  all  these  cases  the  argument  is  confirmed,  "that  be 
the  differences  between  the  hand  and  foot  of  man  and  those 
of  the  gorilla  what  they  may,  the  differences  between 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  in.  t  Loc.  cit.  p.  126. 

\  Loc.  cit.  p.   126. 


44 


THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 


those  of  the  gorilla  and  those  of  the  lower  apes  are  much 
greater."* 

The  comparison  of  muscles  and  of  other  internal  organs 
leads  to  the  same  conclusion ;  the  differences  between 
monkeys  are  more  varied  and  greater  than  those  between 

anthropoids  and  man.  The 
anatomy  of  the  brain  has 
been  much  discussed  with 
regard  to  this.  Several 
distinguished  zoologists, 
amongst  them  Owen  in 
particular,  have  insisted 
on  the  absence  in  all 
monkeys  of  certain  parts 
of  the  brain  peculiarly 
characteristic  of  man. 
Such  are  the  posterior 
lobe,  the  posterior  cornu, 
and  the  lesser  hippocampus.  Controversy  on  this  topic  has 
been  animated  ;  but,  ultimately,  the  opinion  of  Owen  did 
-not  triumph,  and  now  it  is  unanimously  accepted  that  the 
parts  of  the  brain  in  question  are  "  precisely  those  structures 
which  are  the  most  marked  cerebral  characters'  common  to 
man  with  the  apes.  They  are  among  the  most  dis- 
tinctly simian  peculiarities  which  the  human  organism 
exhibits.  "  f 

As  regards  the  brain,  the  differences  between  man  and 
anthropoid  apes  are  certainly  less  marked  than  those  that 
exist  between  the  higher  and  lower  monkeys. 

The  digestive  tract  affords  another  argument  in  favour 
of  the  affinity  of  anthropoid  apes  to  man.  The  human 

*  Loc;  cit.  p.  127. 
t  Loc.cit.  p.  139. 


"Appendage 


FIG.  6. — Caecum  and  vermiform  appendage 
of  man  (after  Ewald). 


SIMIAN   ORIGIN    OF    MAN 


45 


Appendage 


FIG.  7. — Caecum  and  vermiform  appendage  of  the 
chimpanzee  (from  a  preparation  in  the  Paris 
Museum  of  Natural  History). 


caecum  is  furnished  with  the  very  remarkable  and  strange 
vermiform  appendage  which  often  is  the  cause  of  a  grave 
and  prevalent  illness  known  as  appendicitis.  Now,  it  is 
quite  remarkable  that  this  organ  is  practically  identical 
with  the  vermiform  appendage  of  anthropoid  apes.  A  glance 
at  the  .accompany- 
ing figures  (6  and 
7)  will  convince 
the  reader  of  this. 
Yet  none  of  the 
other  monkeys 
present  any  such 
resemblance  with 
man. 

It  is  not  surpris- 
ing, in  the  face  of 
resemblances  so 
numerous,  that  forty  years'  science  has  proclaimed  the  exist- 
ence of  a  close  affinity  between  man  and  the  anthropoid  apes. 
The  view  has  become  an  established  doctrine,  now  that 
no  single  fact  has  been  brought  against  it.  Since  the 
theory  was  enunciated  we  have  learned  much  regarding 
the  natural  history  of  these  apes.  Generally,  when  a  theory 
is  false,  a  new  set  of  facts  overthrows  it.  Attempts  may  be 
made  to  trim  the  new  facts  to  the  existing  theory,  but  such 
attempts  are  doomed  to  failure,  and  the  theory  disappears.  It 
is  of  special  interest,  then,  to  confront  the  simian  theory  of 
the  origin  of  man  with  a  series  of  facts  gathered  by  science 
since  the  theory  was  propounded. 

When  Huxley  wrote,  the  embryological  history  of  anthro- 
poid apes  was  practically  unknown.  Darwin,  Vogt,  and 
Haeckel,  in  their  attempts  to  support  the  theory  of  the 
animal  origin  of  maenad  not  sufficient  knowledge  of  the 


46  THE    NATURE   OF   MAN 

embryology  of  monkeys.     It  is  only  recently  that  important 
work  on  this  subject  has  been  published. 

It  is  known  that  the  history  of  development  is  very  often 
an  excellent  guide  in  tracing  the  relationship  of  organisms. 


FIG.  8.— Foetus  of  gibbon  (after  Selenka). 

It  is  therefore  interesting  to  examine  the  established  facts 
concerning  the  embryology  of  anthropoid  apes.  The 
material  for  these  studies  is  very  difficult  to  obtain,  and 
it  is  not  astonishing  that  even  our  present  state  of  know- 
ledge is  still  imperfect. 

The  placenta  often  gives  information  of  great  importance 
in  the  classification  of  mammals.  It  is  sufficient  to  glance 
at  the  zonary  placenta  of  dogs  and  seals  to  be  convinced 
of  the  relationship  of  these  two  species,  which  at  first  sight 
seem  so  different.  Now,  the  placentas  of  all  the  anthropoid 
apes  examined  up  to  the  present  are  of  the  same  discoid 
type  as  that  of  man.  The  arrangement  of  the  umbilical 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN    OF    MAN 


47 


cord  of  man,  which  was  formerly  considered  as  quite  pecu- 
liar to  him,  is  found  in  anthropoid  apes,  as  has  been 
established  by  Deniker  *  and  Selenka.f  It  is  striking 
that  the  anthropoids  resemble  man  rather  than  the  lower 


Fi  ,.  §  —  Human  foetus  of  three  months  and  a  half. 


monkeys  in  the  relation  of  the  foetus  to  the  foetal  mem- 
branes. 

With  regard  to  the  embryos  themselves,  the  similarity 
between  those  of  monkeys  and  of  man  is  very  great.  Selenka 
insists  on  the  fact  that  the  youngest  stages  of  human  de- 
velopment that  have  been  obtained  can  hardly  be  distin- 
guished from  those  of  the  lower  monkeys  either  in  position 
or  in  shape.  More  advanced  stages  exhibit  greater  differen- 
tiation, and  the  later  embryos  of  man  resemble  those  of 

*  "Archives  de  Zoologie  experimentale,"  1885. 

t  "  Studien  uber  Entwickelungsgeschichte  der  Thiere,"  1898-1902, 


48  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

anthropoids  much  more  closely  than  those  of  the  lower 
monkeys.  The  foetus  of  the  gibbon,  figured  by  Selenka 
(Fig.  8), presents  the  most  striking  likeness  to  a  corresponding 
human  foetus  (Fig.  9). 

Later  on,  the  characters  that  distinguish  man  from  even 
the  highest  of  the  apes  become  more  and  more  pronounced. 
In  the  anthropoids  the  facial  portion  becomes  more  and  more 
prominent,  and  betrays  a  bestiality  absent  from  the  human 
form.  None  the  less  the  resemblance  between  the  nearly 
mature  foetus  of  anthropoids  and  human  embryos  of  about 
the  sixth  month  is  evident  enough.  M.  Deniker  had  the 
good  fortune  to  obtain  the  late  foetus  of  a  gorilla — a  very  rare 
piece  of  fortune — and  he  has  made  an  elaborate  investiga- 
tion of  its  structure.  The  general  appearance  (Fig.  10)  is 
quite  enough  to  show  the  close  relationship  with  a  human 
foetus  of  a  corresponding  age  (Fig.  n).  It  is  plain,  moreover, 
that  the  young  gorilla  is  more  human-like  than  is  the  adult. 
Detailed  anatomical  investigation  only  confirms  this  con- 
clusion. 

The  skulls  of  the  young  stages  of  anthropoids  are  much 
more  human  in  their  character  than  the  adult  skulls.  Selanka 
states  that  such  young  skulls  of  different  anthropoids  not 
only  resemble  one  another  more  closely,  but  are  more 
human.  As  soon  as  the  teeth  begin  to  appear,  the  indi- 
vidual characters  are  assumed  so  rapidly,  and  become  so 
marked,  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  intermediate  stages, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  establish  the  kinships. 

The  data  derived  from  embryology  do  not  point  to  any 
one  of  the  existing  genera  of  monkeys  as  the  ancestor  of 
man.  They  lead  us  to  infer,  rather,  that  man  and  the 
anthropoid  apes  had  a  common  origin,  and  palasontological 
evidence  must  be  scanned  to  find  this  ancestor.  The  greatest 
importance  has  been  attached  to  a  discovery  in  Java,  made 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN    OF    MAN  49 

in  1894  by  Eugene  Dubois.  The  remains,  consisting  of  the 
crown  of  a  skull,  two  teeth  and  a  femur,  belonging  to  a 
creature  for  which  the  name  Pithecanthropus  erectus  *  has 
been  invented,  have  been  interpreted  by  several  anatomists 
as  those  of  a  form  intermediate  between  man  and  the 
anthropoid  apes.  However,  as  the  facts  about  this  creature 
are  meagre  and  have  been  interpreted  differently,  I  shall 
not  make  use  of  them  in  my  argument.  Even  apart  from 
them,  the  simian  origin  of  man  may  be  taken  as  proved. 

The  series  of  facts  that  I  have  been  employing  as  evidence 
of  the  relationship  between  men  and  anthropoid  apes-  has 
been  drawn  from  the  observations  of  anatomists  and  embryo- 
logists.  Darwin,  seeking  to  broaden  the  basis  of  the  argu- 
ment, called  attention  to  the  resemblances  of  the  parasites 
of  men  and  apes,  as  evidence  of  a  close  similarity  of  physio- 
logical processes  in  the  creatures.  In  the  last  few  years, 
investigations  in  a  very  different  field  seem  capable  of 
throwing  a  novel  light  on  the  question. 

When  the  blood  of  one  mammal  is  injected  into  the  body 
of  another,  the  latter  shows  remarkable  modifications. 
When  there  is  added  to  a  serum,  prepared  from  the  blood 
of  a  rabbit  and  consisting  of  a  colourless  transparent  liquid, 
a  few  drops  of  blood  drawn  from  another  rodent  (for  instance 
a  guinea-pig),  nothing  unusual  happens.  The  blood  of  the 
guinea-pig  preserves  its  normal  colour,  and  its  corpuscles 
remain  practically  unaltered.  If,  instead  of  adding  guinea- 
pig's  blood  to  the  serum  of  rabbit's  blood,  we  add  a  serum 
drawn  from  the  blood  of  the  guinea-pig,  still  no  special 
change  occurs. 

If,  however,  a  serum  be  prepared  from  the  blood  of  a 
rabbit  into  which  there  had  first  been  injected  the  blood 

*  A  summary  of  this  question  is  to  be  found  in  a  new  volume 
by  M.  Alsberg,  "  Die  Abstammung  des  Menschen,"  chap,  iii.,  1902. 

D 


50  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

of  a  guinea-pig,  the  serum  shows  new  and  striking  qualities. 
The  addition  to  it  of  some  drops  of  guinea-pig's  blood 


FIG.  io.— Foetus  of  gorilla  (after  Deniker). 

brings  about,  in  a  very  short  time,  a  changed  appearance. 
The  red  liquid,  at  first  opaque,  becomes  transparent.     The 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN    OF    MAN  51 

mixture  of  the  prepared  serum  of  the  rabbit  with  the  blood 
of  the  guinea-pig  will  assume  the  colour  of  claret  mixed 


FlG.  ii. — Human  foetus  of  about  five  months. 

with   water.     The   change   is  due   to  solution   of  the  red 
corpuscles  of  the  guinea-pig  in  the  blood-serum  of  the  rabbit. 


52  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

This  serum  has  still  another  property  not  less  worthy  of 
attention.  If  there  is  added  to  it  not  pure  blood  but  only 
blood  serum  of  the  guinea-pig,  a  disturbance  in  the  mixture 
occurs  almost  at  once,  and  lea'ds  to  the  forming  of  a  precipi- 
tate more  or  less  abundant. 

The  injection  of  the  blood  of  the  guinea-pig  into  a  rabbit 
has  therefore  changed  the  serum  of  the  latter  by  intro- 
ducing new  properties  :  that  of  dissolving  the  red  corpuscles 
of  the  guinea-pig  and  of  giving  a  precipitate  with  the  blood 
serum  of  the  same  animal. 

Frequently  the  blood  serum  of  animals  prepared  by  pre- 
vious injections  of  the  blood  of  other  species  of  animals  is 
strictly  specific.  In  such  cases  the  serum  only  gives  a 
precipitate  with  the  serum  of  the  species  which  has  furnished 
the  blood  for  the  injections,  and  only  dissolves  the  red 
corpuscles  of  this  same  species.  But  there  are  some  instances 
in  which  a  serum  of  a  prepared  animal  dissolves,  not  only 
the  red  corpuscles  of  the  species  which  has  furnished  the 
injected  blood,  but  those  of  allied  species.  Thus  the  blood 
serum  of  the  rabbit,  after  some  injections  of  blood  of  the 
chicken,  becomes  capable  of  dissolving  not  only  the  red 
corpuscles  of  the  chicken  but  also  those  of  the  pigeon, 
although  in  a  less  degree. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  assistance  could  be  ren- 
dered to  forensic  medicine  by  making  use  of  this  property 
of  serums,  to  discover  the  origin  of  a  certain  blood.  As 
is  well  known,  it  is  often  very  important  to  decide  whether 
a  stain  was  caused  by  the  blood  of  man  or  of  another  animal. 
Until  quite  recently  it  was  not  known  how  to  distinguish 
human  blood  from  that  of  other  mammals.  Experiments 
have  been  made  to  discover  if  the  red  corpuscles  found  in 
the  blood  stain  could  be  dissolved  by  the  serum  of  animals 
which  had  previously  been  injected  with  the  blood  of  man. 


SIMIAN   ORIGIN    OF   MAN  53 

In  a  certain  case  the  human  origin  of  the  stain  in  question 
was  shown.  But  it  was  soon  discovered  that  this  method 
was  not  infallible.  It  is  now  found  that  the  method  of 
precipitates  gives  much  more  conclusive  results.  It  is  done 
in  this  way  :  Human  blood  is  injected  several  times  into 
any  animal  (rabbit,  dog,  sheep,  horse).  Some  time  after- 
wards the  animal  is  bled,  and  a  clear  and  limpid  serum, 
quite  devoid  of  corpuscles,  is  prepared.  When  there  is 
added  to  this  serum  one  or  several  drops  of  human  serum, 
it  forms  immediately  a  precipitate  which  falls  to  the  bottom. 
In-  this,  way  it  is  discovered  whether  the  prepared  serum 
is  sufficiently  active.  It  then  becomes  possible  to  recognise 
even  dried  human  blood.  A  little  of  such  blood  is  dissolved 
in  normal  salt  solution,  and  placed  in  a  tube  containing 
the  serum  of  an  animal  prepared  by  means  of  the  injections 
of  human  blood.  If  a  precipitate  forms  in  the  liquid  in  a 
short  time,  the  fact  indicates  that  the  stain  is  really  human 
blood.  This  method  is  being  practised  in  forensic  medicine. 

This  reaction  is.  of  great  interest  to  us  because  it  is  of 
assistance  in  revealing  the  relationship  between  species. 
The  serum  of  an  animal  prepared  with  the  blood  of  the 
fowl  gives  a  precipitate,  not  only  with  the  serum  of  the 
fowl  itself,  but  also  with  that  of  the  pigeon  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  it  remains  undisturbed  when  the  serum  of  mammals 
is  added.  The  reaction  indicates  then  that  there  is  a  suffi- 
ciently marked  degree  of  relationship  between  the  fowl  and 
the  pigeon.  Here  is  another  example  :  the  serum  of  an 
animal  prepared  with  the  blood  of  an  ox  gives  an  abundant 
precipitate  when  there  is  added  to  it  a  little  blood  serum 
of  the  ox,  but  it  does  not  produce  this  reaction  with  the 
serum  of  any  of  the  other  mammals,  not  even  with  that 
of  the  sheep,  stag  and  deer.*  The  relationship  between 

*  Uhlenhuth,  "Deutsche  Medecin.  Wochenschrift,"  p.  82,  1901. 


54  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

the  Bovida  and  these  other  ruminants  is  then  not  so  close 
as  that  between  the  fowl  and  the  pigeon. 

How  does  the  serum  of  animals  which  has  been  injected 
with  human  blood  behave  ?  The  serum  capable  of  giving  a 
precipitate  with  human  serum  does  not  produce  the  same 
reaction  except  with  the  serum  of  some  monkeys  (the  small 
Papio)* 

Gruenbaum,  of  Liverpool, f  has  been  fortunate  enough  to 
procure  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  blood  of  three  large 
anthropoid  apes — the  gorilla,  chimpanzee,  and  ourang- 
outang.  He  has  been  able  to  prove  that  the  serum  of 
animals  injected  with  man's  blood  gives  a  precipitate  not 
only  with  this  blood  but  also  with  that  of  the  above-men- 
tioned apes.  It  was  impossible  for  him  "  to  distinguish  this 
precipitate  as  regards  quality  and  quantity  from  that 
which  is  obtained  with  human  blood." 

To  verify  this  result,  Gruenbaum  prepared  the  serum  of 
animals  injected  with  the  blood  of  the  gorilla,  chimpanzee, 
and  ourang-outang.  These  three  kinds  cf  serum  gave  pre- 
cipitates with  the  blood  of  these  three  apes,  and  to  the  same 
extent  with  the  blood  of  man.  It  is  therefore  evident  that 
there  exists  between  the  human  species  and  the  anthro- 
poid apes  not  only  a  superficial  analogy  of  body  and  of  the 
principal  organs,  but  a  close  blood-relationship. 

Facts  of  this  kind  could  not  be  foreseen  when  the  theory 
of  the  simian  origin  of  man  was  put  forward.  In  spite  of 
this  they  have  arisen  to  confirm  it  in  a  truly  astonishing 
way. 

It  is  therefore  impossible  to  doubt  that  man  is  a  member 
of  the  group  of  primates  having  a  close  connection  with  the 

*  Wassermann  andSchuetze,  "  Berliner  klinische  Wochenschrift,3" 
p.  7, 1901. 

f  The  Lancet,  Jan.   18,   1902. 


SIMIAN   ORIGIN    OF    MAN  55 

higher  monkeys  of  the  present  time.     This  result  is  of  great 
importance  in  all  questions  relating  to  human  nature. 

It  would  certainly  be  of  considerable  interest  to  know 
more  exactly  what  steps  were  followed  in  this  simian  descent 
of  man.  On  this  question  our  knowledge  is  still  very  imper- 
fect. In  his  researches  on  anthropoid  apes,  Selenka  insists 
on  a  more  intimate  relationship  between  the  chimpanzee 
and  man.  "  The  great  resemblance  of  the  premolars  and 
of  the  molars  in  the  permanent  dentition  of  the  chimpanzee 
with  human  teeth  appears  to  indicate  that  the  chimpanzee 
and  man  have  a  common  origin,  and  descend  from  extinct 
forms  like  Dryopithecus.  This  conclusion,  however,  is  con- 
tradicted by  the  fact  that  the  milk  teeth  of  the  chimpanzee 
are  much  nearer  those  of  the  ourang-outang  than  those  of 
man."  * 

It  is  evident  that  to  clear  up  this  question  it  would  be 
necessary  to  have  a  greater  knowledge  of  fossil  anthropoids 
such  as  Dryopithecus  and  its  allies.  In  the  present  state 
of  knowledge  only  a  very  general  hypothesis  can  be  formu- 
ated  as  to  the  exact  mode  of  human  descent. 

We  have  already  shown  that  the  foetus  of  man  and  of 
the  anthropoid  monkeys  resemble  each  other  much  more 
than  the  adult  forms,  and  that  the  young  of  these  apes  also 
bear  a  greater  likeness  to  man  than  do  the  adults.  The  great 
development  of  the  skull  as  compared  with  the  face  is 
characteristic  of  young  monkeys  and  of  man  young  or  old. 
The  jaws  continue  to  develop  in  the  anthropoids,  while  in 
man  there  occurs  in  this  respect  a  certain  arrest  of  develop- 
ment. The  hairs,  so  small  in  man,  also  show  a  similar 
arrest.  Generally  they  remain  during  the  whole  life  in  a 
state  of  incomplete  development.  It  is  especially  on  the 
back  of  man  that  this  feeble  development  of  hairs  occurs. 
*  Selenka,  loc.  cit.  p.  157. 


56  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

As  this  part  of  the  body  in  monkeys,  on  the  contrary,  is 
much  more  hairy  than  the  under  surface,  it  has  been  held 
to  constitute  an  essential  difference  between  man  and 
monkeys.  But  embryological  study  enables  us  to  settle 
this  apparent  contradiction.  The  foetus  of  the  gorilla  exa- 
mined by  M.  Deniker  possessed  an  almost  entirely  smooth 
back.  "The  foetus  had  true  hairs  only  on  the  head,  the 
anterior  surface,  and  around  the  lips  and  the  genital  organs, 
and  the  eyelashes  and  eyebrows.  The  remainder  of  the 
body  was  smooth  or  covered  with  down  not  exceeding  a 
millimetre  in  length."  * 

The  skin  of  the  under  surface,  smooth  around  the  navel, 
was  covered  with  small  hairs  more  thickly  than  on  the  back. 
The  abundance  of  hairs  on  the  posterior  aspect  of  the  body 
of  monkeys  is  a  later  acquisition,  which  develops  but  tardily 
during  foetal  life. 

As  regards  the  distribution  of  these  hairs  man  resembles 
much  more  the  embryos  of  monkeys  than  adult  monkeys. 
This  fact,  instead  of  shaking  the  theory  of  relationship 
between  man  and  apes,  gives  us  strong  evidence  as  to  the 
mode  of  his  descent.  Putting  the  known  facts  together, 
.we  may  infer  that  man  is  a  case  of  the  arrested  develop- 
ment of  some  simian  of  ancient  days,  as  it  were,  a  simian 
monster  from  the  zoological  point  of  view,  although  not 
from  the  aesthetic.  Man  may  be  regarded  as  a  prodigy 
sprung  from  an  ape,  born  with  a  larger  brain  and  an  intel- 
ligence more  highly  developed  than  occurred  in  his  parents. 
Such  a  view  is  in  accordance  with  known  iacts. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  certain  kinds  of  organisms, 
instead  of  evolving  at  a  very  slow  pace,  spring  up  suddenly, 
and  that  in  such  a  case  nature  proceeds  with  a  considerable 
stride.  Darwin  foresaw  this  possibility,  but  it  has  been 

*  Deniker,  he.  cit.  p.   17. 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN   OF    MAN  57 

made  plain  to  us  by   the   remarkable   researches  of  the 
botanist  Hugo  de  Vries.* 

De  Vries  cultivated  for  fifteen  years  the  Evening  Prim- 
rose, a  plant  of  American  origin  ((Enotera  lamarckiana). 
He  obtained,  suddenly,  a  set  of  flowers  quite  distinct 
from  those  of  the  original  plant.  They  presented  such 
great  differences  that  he  could  separate  them  as  several 
quite  distinct  species.  During  the  first  few  years  De  Vries 
obtained  three  species  ((Enotera  lata,  (En.  nanella,  and 
sometimes  (En.  scintittans),  but  variation  becoming  more 
and  more  prevalent,  he  ultimately  distinguished  a  dozen 
new  species.  These  were  grown  from  seed,  and  transmitted 
their  specific  characters  to  their  descendants.  De  Vries, 
in  this  way,  was  a  witness  of  the  sudden  appearance  of 
new  species. 

It  is  probable  that  man  owes  his  origin  to  a  similar  pheno- 
menon. Some  anthropoid  ape  having  at  a  certain  period 
become  varied  in  specific  characters,  produced  offspring 
endowed  with  new  properties.  The  brain,  of  abnormal 
size,  placed  in  a  spacious  cranium,  allowed  a  rapid  develop- 
ment of  intellectual  faculties  much  more  advanced  than 
those  of  the  parent  and  those  of  the  original  species.  This 
peculiarity  would  be  transmitted  to  the  descendants,  and, 
as  it  was  of  very  considerable  advantage  in  the  struggle 
for  existence,  the  new  race  would  hold  its  own,  propagate 
and  prevail.  The  extraordinary  development  of  intelli- 
gence necessarily  led  to  perfections  in  the  choice  of  nour- 
ishment, perfections  which  approached  the  art  of  preparing 
more  digestible  food.  The  jaws,  under  these  conditions, 
had  not  such  a  difficult  task  as  before,  and,  moreover,  they 
were  no  longer  required  for  attack  or  defence.  They 
became  less  developed  than  in  the  true  anthropoid  apes. 
*  "  Die  Mutations theorie,"  vol.  I.,  Leipzig,  1901. 


58  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

These  suggestions  involve  a  conception  of  the  mind  that 
is  in  harmony  with  known  facts.  From  time  to  time  pro- 
digies are  born  with  some  talent  far  greater  than  the 
gifts  possessed  by  the  parents. 

About  twelve  years  ago  a  young  native  of  Piedmont, 
Jacques  Inaudi  by  name,  became  famous  in  Paris  on  account 
of  his  extraordinary  power  of  calculation.  He  had  an 
astonishing  memory  for  figures,  and  could  perform  mathe- 
matical calculations  with  surprising  rapidity.*  Two 
minutes  were  sufficient  for  him  to  multiply  two  numbers 
composed  of  seven  and  six  figures.  Other  arithmetical 
calculations,  such  as  the  extraction  of  roots,  gave  him  but 
little  trouble. 

To  attain  this  result,  Inaudi  made  use  of  his  extraordinary 
memory  for  figures,  founded  on  the  persistence  of  auditory 
images.  When  he  heard  the  numbers  pronounced,  he 
remembered  them.  Inaudi  declared  to  the  Commission 
convened  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  that  when  he  tried 
to  recall  the  numbers  he  heard  them  as  if  repeated  aloud, 
in  the  tone  of  his  own  voice,  and  that  he  could  hear  them 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  "In  an  hour,  or  in  two 
hours'  time,  if  I  thought  of  the  number  that  was  uttered,  I 
should  be  able  to  repeat  it  as  exactly  as  I  have  done  before 
the  Commission." 

Now  this  very  extraordinary  and  rare  auditory  memory 
was  developed  in  an  altogether  abrupt  way.  Inaudi,  the 
son  of  poor  peasants  of  Piedmont,  passed  the  first  years 
of  his  life  as  a  shepherd.  At  the  age  of  six  his  wonderful 
faculty  of  calculating  figures  appeared.  He  did  not  know 
at  this  time  how  to  read  or  to  write.  At  eleven  years  of 
age  he  astonished  the  members  of  the  Anthropological 

*  "  Comptes  Rendus  de  1'Academie  des  Sciences,"  1892,  pp.  275, 
1329;  "Revue  scientifique,"  1880,  p.  1124. 


SIMIAN    ORIGIN    OF    MAN  59 

Society  of  Paris  by  his  phenomenal  memory,  and  it  was 
only  much  later,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  that  he  learnt  to 
read  and  write.  Neither  of  the  parents  of  Inaudi  had  shown 
in  the  slightest  degree  a  calculating  faculty  like  that  of  little 
Jacques.  It  must  then  be  admitted  that  it  was  developed  as 
suddenly  as  the  new  qualities  in  the  Evening  Primrose  that 
we  have  already  mentioned. 

The  first  men,  also,  were  probably  ingenious  children, 
born  of  anthropoid  parents.  This  hypothesis  very  well 
explains  the  fact  that  man  is  more  like  the  foetus  and  the 
young  of  anthropoid  apes  than  the  adult  animals,  and 
exhibits  only  a  trace  of  many  organs  which  are  much  more 
developed  in  simian  species. 

A  very  distinguished  German  anatomist,  Wiedersheim,* 
has  given  in  a  pamphlet  a  resum<?  of  our  actual  knowledge 
of  the  organs  of  man  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  descent. 
He  has  found  fifteen  organs  which  show  in  the  human 
species  a  considerable  advance  on  those  of  anthropoid  apes. 
The  chief  of  these  are  the  tower  limb,  well  adapted  for  a 
constant  erect  carriage  of  the  body  ;  the  strengthening  of 
the  pelvis  and  of  the  sacrum,  as  well  as  the  broadening  of 
the  more  slender  pelvis  of  the  female  ;  the  curvature  of  the 
lumbar  part  of  the  vertebral  column  ;  the  development  of 
the  buttocks  and  of  the  calves  ;  the  difference  of  certain 
muscles  of  the  face  ;  the  nose  ;  certain  strands  from  the 
brain  to  the  spinal  cord  ;  the  occipital  lobe  of  the  brain  ; 
the  greater  development  of  the  cerebral  cortex,  and,  lastly, 
the  considerable  differentiation  of  the  muscles  of  the  larynx 
which  permit  speech. 

But  besides  these  progressive  organs,  Wiedersheim  has 
counted  seventeen  decaying  organs,  still  able  to  fulfil 
their  physiological  function  in  a  more  or  less  incomplete 
*  "  Der  Bau  des  Menschen,"  Third  Edition,  1902. 


60  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

manner  (amongst  these  are  the  decadent  muscles  of  the 
leg  and  foot ;  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  pairs  of  ribs, 
the  toes,  the  caecum,  etc.),  and  not  less  than  one  hundred 
and  seven  rudimentary  organs  which  serve  no  useful  physio- 
logical purpose  (to  this  category  belong  the  coccyx — the 
vestige  of  a  tail — the  thirteenth  pair  of  ribs  in  the  adult, 
the  muscles  of  the  ear,  the  vermiform  appendage,  etc.). 

We  have  already  shown  in  the  preceding  chapter  the 
great  importance  of  rudimentary  organs  as  aids  to  the 
tracing  of  the  genealogy  of  organisms.  These  organs,  use- 
less at  present,  are  the  vestiges  of  similar  but  more  developed 
organs,  which  fulfilled  a  useful  function  in  our  ancestors. 

The  extraordinary  quantity  of  rudimentary  organs  in 
man  furnishes  another  proof  of  his  animal  origin,  and  puts 
at  the  disposal  of  science  information  of  great  value  for  the 
philosophic  conception  of  human  nature. 


CHAPTER   IV 

DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  ORGANISATION  OF  THE 
DIGESTIVE  SYSTEM  OF  MAN 

Perfection  of  the  human  form — The  covering  of  hair— 
The  dentition  in  general  and  the  wisdom  teeth — The 
vermiform  appendage — Appendicitis  and  its  gravity — 
Uselessness  of  the  caecum  and  of  the  large  intestine — 
Instance  of  a  woman  without  a  large  intestine — Ancestral 
history  of  this  portion  of  the  digestive  tract — Injurious 
effect  of  the  microbes  of  the  large  intestine — Frequency 
of  cancer  of  the  large  intestine  and  of  the  stomach — 
Limited  usefulness  of  the  stomach — The  instinct  of  choice 
of  food — Futility  of  this  instinct  in  man 

ALTHOUGH  he  is  a  recent  arrival  on  the  earth,  man  has  made 
great  progress  as  compared  with  his  ancestors,  the  anthro- 
poid apes.  A  comparison  between  even  the  lower  races 
of  man,  such  as  the  Hottentots  or  the  aborigines  of  Aus- 
tralia and  higher  types  such  as  the  inhabitants  of  Europe 
and  of  North  Africa,  shows  that  a  very  great  advance  has 
been  made. 

Human  art  has  been  able  to  surpass  nature  in  many 
instances.  No  natural  sound  is  so  perfect  as  some  of  the 
more  beautiful  pieces  of  modern  music.  Even  in  the  pro- 
duction of  form,  man  has  triumphed  over  nature.  Breeders 
of  flowers  or  of  birds  seek  to  produce  new  varieties.  With 
this  object  they  often  frame  a  conception  of  what  they  desire 
to  produce,  and,  so  to  speak,  set  about  to  realise  their  pro- 
gramme. They  prepare  ideal  images  to  serve  them  as 


62  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

guides  in  the  process  of  production.  By  the  method  of 
artificial  selection  they  often  succeed  in  their  wishes,  and 
add  to  their  collections  some  remarkable  form.  In  such 
fashions  aviculture  and  horticulture  have  produced  birds 
and  flowers  more  beautiful  than  any  found  in  nature. 

In  regard  to  the  human  body,  attempts  have  been  made 
to  surpass  nature  and  to  represent  a  body  corresponding 
to  an  artistic  ideal.  To  arrive  at  something  more  beautiful 
than  man,  the  wings  of  birds  or  the  characters  of  some 
other  creatures  have  been  added  to  his  presentment.  Such 
attempts  have  had  no  other  result  than  to  show  that  the 
human  form,  as  created  by  nature,  cannot  be  surpassed. 
The  ancient  conception  of  the  human  body  as  the  artistic 
ideal  has  been  fully  justified.  The  views  of  those  religious 
fanatics  who  have  thrown  contempt  on  the  body  by  repre- 
senting it  in  degraded  forms,  must  be  rejected. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  apply  this  result  to  our  con- 
ception of  the  nature  of  man  in  general.  The  beautiful 
form  of  the  human  body  appears  only  in  youth  and  in 
maturity.  In  old  age,  the  bodies  of  men  and  women  are 
generally  ugly,  and  in  extreme  old  age  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  see  the  traces  of  former  beauty. 

Nor  can  conceptions  of  perfection  drawn  from  the  human 
face  and  body  be  extended  to  the  whole  of  man's  organisa- 
tion. A  glance  at  some  of  the  organic  systems  will  make 
this  plain. 

The  human  skin  is  covered  with  little  hairs,  the  history 
of  which  is  interesting.  In  one  stage  of  embryonic  life  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  body  is  clad  with  hairs.  This  covering 
is  known  as  the  lanugo,  and  consists  of  strands  of  hair,  dis- 
posed very  regularly  all  over  the  body,  save  on  the  nose  and 
the  hands  and  feet.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  this  is 
functionless,  and  is  no  more  than  an  inheritance  from  the 


DISHARMONIES    OF    DIGESTION  63 

old  ape-like  condition.  Later  on,  it  falls  out  and  is  replaced 
by  the  ordinary  downy  covering  of  the  body.  In  adult  life, 
and  particularly  in  old  age,  the  hairs  of  the  second  coat 
tend  to  grow  very  long  and  so  to  form  a  covering  that  is 
neither  beautiful  nor  in  the  least  degree  useful.  We  may 
take  this  as  a  first  example  of  a  disharmonious  condition  in 
the  human  body.  Hairs,  incapable  of  protecting  the  body 
from  cold,  survive  merely  as  an  ancestral  relic  and  may 
become  even  harmful. 

The  human  skin  is  constantly  exposed  to  the  microbes  in 
dust ;  and  the  follicles  of  the  hairs,  in  which  these  microbes 
lodge,  form  receptacles  very  favourable  to  their  multipli- 
cation. In  the  hollows  of  the  follicles,  certain  microbes, 
as  for  instance  some  of  the  Staphylococci,  multiply  rapidly 
and  give  rise  to  acne  and  to  pimples.  The  process  may 
even  go  the  length  of  producing  a  chronic  skin-disease  very 
unpleasant  and  even  dangerous  if  it  be  associated  with 
suppuration. 

In  the  human  race,  intelligence,  that  is  to  say,  the  activity 
of  the  brain,  supplants  many  other  functions,  and  man  is 
able  to  protect  himself  against  the  inclemencies  of  weather 
much  better  than  his  furry  ancestors  were  capable  of  doing. 
He  is  able  to  do  this  through  his  invention  of  clothing  which 
may  be  varied  with  the  nature  of  the  weather.  But  the 
obstinate  laws  of  inheritance  burden  him  with  a  covering  of 
hair,  not  only  useless  but  frequently  harmful.  And  this  is 
only  one  example  among  many. 

Although,  in  an  extreme  case,  man  is  able  to  survive 
the  total  loss  of  the  teeth,  it  cannot  yet  be  said  that  teeth 
are  useless  or  harmful.  None  the  less,  a  study  of  the  human 
dentition  reveals  that  this  set  of  organs  is  out  of  harmony 
with  the  fundamental  needs  of  our  race.  The  monkeys  of 
the  old  world  (Catarrhines),  although  they  belong  obviously 


64  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

to  the  brute  creation,  already  exhibit  a  tendency  to 
reduction  in  the  number  of  teeth.  While  American  monkeys 
(Platyrrhines)  may  possess  thirty-six  teeth,  the  old  world 
forms  do  not  possess  more  than  thirty- two  in  all,  at  least 
as  a  normal  occurrence.  Selenka  *  has  shown  that  among 
gorillas  and  ourangs  individuals  with  a  fourth  pair  of  molars, 
bringing  up  the  number  of  teeth  to  thirty-six,  are  not  rare, 
He  found  these  additional  molars  in  20  per  cent,  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety-four  adult  skulls  of  ourangs.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  the  cases  of  the  chimpanzee  and  the  gibbon,, 
the  third  pair  of  molars  differ  from  the  others  in  smaller 
size  and  occasional  absence.  This  reduction  is  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  smaller  jaws  and  less  powerful  mastication 
of  these  anthropoids. 

Cases  of  supplementary  molars  are  very  rare  in  man,  and 
occur  more  frequently  in  the  lower  races,  such  as  negroes, 
Australians,  and  natives  of  New  Caledonia. f  On  the  other 
hand,  absence  of  the  third  pair  of  molars,  that  is  to  say, 
of  the  wisdom  teeth,  is  quite  frequent,' especially  in  the 
white  races.  Nearly  10  per  cent,  of  Europeans  throughout 
their  lives  have  no  more  than  twenty-eight  teeth,  the  wisdom 
teeth  being  absent.  This  absence  is  more  common  in  the 
upper  jaw,  where  it  occurs  in  from  18  to  19  per  cent,  of 
men.  The  loss  of  the  wisdom  teeth  +  is  on  the  whole  to  be 
regarded  as  an  advantage.  Certainly  from  the  "  physio- 
logical point  of  view  the  part  played  by  the  wisdom  teeth 
is  subordinate.  Their  power  of  masticating  is  feeble  ;  the 
loss  does  not  appreciably  interfere  with  mastication.  The 
complete  absence  of  all  four  has  no  influence  on  mastica- 

*  Selenka,  "  Studien  iiber  Entwicklungsgesch.  d.  Thiere,"  p.  89. 
f  "  Dictionnaire  encyclopedique  des  Sciences  Medicales,"  article 
"Dent,"   by  Magitot,  p.    194,    1882. 

J  Schmid,  "  Vierteljahrschrift  fur  Zahnheilkunde,"  p.  141,  1896. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION          65 

tion."  *  These  teeth  are  cut  very  late,  often  not  appearing 
until  the  thirtieth  year  and  sometimes  being  delayed  to 
extreme  old  age. 

Even  if  they  were  only  useless,  the  wisdom  teeth  would 
furnish  an  instance  of  disharmony  in  the  human  body.  But 
these  teeth  often  are  a  source  of  trouble  which,  although 
it  is  not  often  serious,  may  lead  to  grave  diseases  and  even 
to  death.  No  other  teeth  are  so  subject  to  accident.  This 
is  due  partly  to  the  slowness  with  which  they  develop  and 
to  the  difficulty  they  encounter  in  cutting  the  mucous 
membrane.  Dental  caries,  moreover,  is  specially  frequent 
in  them.f  The  membrane  surrounding  them  is  specially 
subject  to  small  lesions  by  which  the  infection  spreads  to 
adjacent  parts.  Inflammatory  conditions  frequently  arise 
from  these  teeth,  and  tumours,  caries  of  the  jaw-bone  and 
even  diffused  suppuration,  leading  to  death,  may  be  sequelae 
of  wounds  of  the  wisdom  teeth.  Galippe  J  has  described 
a  case  in  which  one  of  these  teeth,  failing  to  cut  the  gum 
in  the  normal  position,  made  its  way  through  the  cheek. 
This  produced  an  inflammatory  suppuration  of  the  cheek 
with  numerous  fistulae  and  an  inflammation  of  the  masseter 
muscle  which  made  it  impossible  for  the  mouth  to  open. 
Notwithstanding  the  extraction  of  the  wisdom  tooth  that 
had  been  the  cause  of  all  these  troubles,  the  patient  died 
of  meningitis,  which  had  started  from  the  tooth.  Other 
cases  have  been  described  in  which  a  difficult  eruption  of 
the  tooth  led  to  formation  of  an  abscess  in  the  bone,  from 
which  there  arose  a  fatal  abscess  of  the  brain. 

Wisdom  teeth  may  be  the  starting-point  even  of  cancerous 

*  Schmid,  loc.  cit.  p.  147. 

t  Redier,  in  "  Revue  mensuelle  de  Stomatologie,"  p.  164,  1895. 
%  "  Comptes  Rendus  de  la  Societe  de  Stomatologie  de    Paris," 
vol.  I.,  p.  98,  1890. 

E 


66  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

tumours.  Magitot  *  writes  that  very  many  neoplasms  of 
the  jaw  may  be  traced  to  a  source  of  origin  in  the  socket  of 
the  wisdom  tooth. 

There  is  no  useful  function  of  these  teeth  to  set  against 
their  disadvantages.  It  was  our  remote  ancestors,  masti- 
cating hard  food,  that  had  the  advantages  of  these  additional 
teeth.  In  man  they  are  rudimentary  organs,  and  provide 
another  proof  of  our  simian  origin. 

The  caecal  or  vermiform  appendage  is  another  rudimentary- 
organ  in  the  human  body,  and  is  interesting  from  many 
points  of  view.  I  have  already  referred  to  its  importance 
as  definite  evidence  of  our  origin  from  lower  animals,  and 
shown  how  striking  is  the  resemblance  of  the  human  organ 
to  that  of  the  anthropoid  apes.  It  consists  of  a  thick  wall, 
containing  glands,  a  muscular  layer  and  lymphoid  clumps. 
That  it  performs  no  function  useful  to  man  is  made  clear 
by  the  existence  of  undisturbed  health  in  persons  from  whom 
it  has  been  removed.  Thanks  to  the  advances  of  modern 
surgery,  this  organ  has  been  removed  very  often,  and  some- 
times even  in  cases  where  it  did  not  appear  to  have  been 
diseased.  In  a  great  majority  of  the  cases,  the  removal 
of  the  organ  succeeded  well,  and  the  patients  experienced 
no  harm,  but  appeared  to  carry  on  all  the  processes  of 
digestion  with  equal  completeness. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  csecal  appendage  in  man  is  fre- 
quently obliterated,  there  being  no  trace  of  the  normal 
aperture,  so  that  there  is  no  connection  between  it  and  the 
general  digestive  cavity.  According  to  Ribbert,t  nearly 
one  person  in  four  possesses  the  appendage  in  an  obliterated 
condition,  the  condition  being  particularly  frequent  in  the 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  204. 

t  Virchow's  "  Archiv  fur  Pathologische  Anatomic,"  1893,  vol 
CXXXIL,  p.  76. 


DISHARMONIES    OF   DIGESTION          67 

aged.  In  young  persons  and  infants  the  aperture  of  the 
appendage  is  usually  open.  In  cases  where  there  is  no  com- 
munication with  the  cavity  of  the  digestive  tract,  the  pro- 
cesses of  digestion  appear  to  be  normal.  It  is  logical  to 
conclude  that  in  the  human  being  the  function  of  the  caecum 
is  either  absent  or  very  slight. 

Even  in  the  anthropoid  apes  the  appendage  of  the  caecum 
appears  to  be  a  rudimentary  structure,  with  a  function  at 
most  accessory  to  that  of  the  lymphoid  clumps.  In  lower 
old-world  monkeys  the  vermiform  appendage  does  not  usually 
exist,  cases  such  as  that  of  Cercopithecus  sabaeus,  in  which 
it  is  present  as  a  little  boss,  being  rare.  It  is  necessary  to 
seek  the  purpose  of  this  structure  still  lower  in  the  scale 
of  life.  In  some  herbivorous  creatures  the  caecum  is  large, 
and  ends  in  a  portion  richly  provided  with  lymphoid  tissue, 
and  similar  to  the  vermiform  appendage.  The  rabbit  and 
certain  marsupials  are  good  examples.  Undoubtedly,  in 
their  cases,  the  portion  of  the  digestive  canal  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  vermiform  appendage  of  man  is  active  in  the 
digestion  of  vegetable  matter.  The  organ  is  a  very  old 
part  of  the  constitution  of  mammals,  and  it  is  because  it 
has  been  preserved  long  after  its  function  has  disappeared 
that  we  find  it  occurring  in  the  bogly  of  man. 

Rudimentary  organs  for  the  most  part  display  a  con- 
genital lack  of  the  power  of  resistance,  and,  as  Darwin 
suggested,  for  this  reason  they  are  frequently  the  seats  of 
disease.  When  Darwin  wrote  his  work  on  the  "  Descent  of 
Man,"  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  many  fatal 
cases  of  inflammation  of  the  appendage  had  not  been  recorded. 
Darwin  quoted  only  two  cases  as  known  to  him.  Since 
then,  appendicitis  (the  name  given  by  American  surgeons 
to  the  first  acute  or  to  the  chronic  inflammation  of  the 
appendage)  has  become  a  well-known  disease  in  Europe  and 


68  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

America,  and  occupies  considerable  space  in  treatises  on  the 
pathology  of  the  digestive  tract. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  prevalence  of  appendicitis,  1  may 
mention  that  in  a  single  Paris  hospital  (Hopital  Trousseau) 
four  hundred  and  forty-three  cases  of  the  disease  have  been 
treated  in  the  five  years  1895-1899.*  In  many  of  these 
cases  the  subjects  were  infants,  as  these  as  a  rule  are  much 
more  subject  to  appendicitis  than  are  the  aged.  According 
to  Treves,f  the  well-known  English  surgeon,  36  per  cent, 
of  the  observed  cases  were  under  twenty  years  of  age.  Among 
old  men,  on  the  other  hand,  appendicitis  is  a  rare  exception. 
The  varying  incidence  of  the  disease  at  different  ages  no 
doubt  depends  on  the  fact  that  in  old  age  the  appendage 
is  often  obliterated.  The  more  easy  communication  with 
the  other  portion  of  the  gut  may  be,  the  more  chance 
there  is  for  inflammation  to  occur.  As  it  has  a  muscular 
layer,  the  appendage  is  able  to  void  its  fcecal  contents ;  and 
a  Scotch  surgeon,  Parker  Syms,J  has  seen  an  appendage  that 
he  had  removed,  in  the  act  of  writhing  about  like  an  earth- 
worm. Such  movements,  undoubtedly,  would  aid  the  dis- 
charge of  the  contents  of  the  cavity. 

The  movements  of  the  appendage,  however,  are  usually 
feeble,  and  thus  stagnation  of  the  contents  is  common. 
Foreign  matter  is  often  found  in  the  cavity,  such  as  the 
pips  of  fruit,  seeds,  hairs,  thorns,  and  in  rare  cases  pins  or 
even  tin-tacks.  Such  bodies  are  capable  of  wounding  the 
inner  wall  of  the  appendage,  and  so  giving  an  opportunity 
to  the  microbes  that  abound  in  the  digestive  tube,  with  the 
result  that  microbial  infection  and  inflammation  of  the 

*  Lannelongue,  in  the  "Bulletin  medical,"  p.  621,  1902. 
t  Treves,   "  The  Surgical  Treatment  of    Ferity phlitis,"   London 
1895- 
J  Edinburgh  Medical  Journal,  August  1893. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION  69 

organ  is  produced.  Often,  too,  intestinal  worms  pass  into 
the  appendage  and  become  the  carriers  of  pathogenic 
organisms. 

Appendicitis  is  usually  a  grave  disease,  and  is  fatal  in 
from  8  to  10  per  cent,  of  cases.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  anywhere  else  in  the  human  body  so  flagrant  a  case 
of  natural  disharmony.  The  organ  in  question  may  be 
obliterated  or  removed  without  disturbance  of  function, 
and,  moreover,  in  its  normal  condition  is  a  frequent  cause 
of  serious  illness ! 

The  vermiform  appendage  is  not  the  only  part  of  the 
digestive  canal  that  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  mainten- 
ance of  life  and  health.  The  caecum  itself,  of  which  the 
appendage  is  only  a  portion,  is  degenerating  in  the  human 
body,  as  I  stated  in  the  last  chapter.  The  human  caecum, 
in  fact,  is  very  little  developed  in  comparison  with 
the  caecum  of  most  herbivorous  animals,  in  which  it  is  a 
true  organ  of  digestion.  In  the  human  embryo  the  caecum 
and  the  appendage  are  relatively  better  developed  than  they 
are  in  the  adult. 

Disharmony  is  exhibited  in  the  human  body  not  only 
by  rudimentary  organs  such  as  the  wisdom  teeth  and  the 
appendage,  or  by  degenerating  organs  such  as  the  caecum. 
Some  very  large  parts  of  our  alimentary  canal  must  be 
regarded  as  useless  inheritances,  bequeathed  to  us  by  our 
animal  ancestors.  It  is  no  longer  rash  to  say  that  not  only 
the  rudimentary  appendage  and  the  caecum  but  the  whole 
of  the  large  intestine  are  superfluous,  and  that  their 
removal  would  be  attended  with  happy  results.  So  far  as 
digestion  goes,  the  latter  portion  of  the  alimentary  tract  is 
of  little  importance.  Even  from  the  point  of  view  of  absorp- 
tion of  the  products  of  digestion  its  importance  is  strictly 
secondary.  And  so  it  is  not  astonishing  to  find  that  the 


70  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

removal  or  disappearance  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  large 
intestine  can  be  supported  well  by  man. 

As  one  result  of  the  astonishing  progress  of  surgery,  it 
has  been  found  possible  to  excise  certain  parts  of  the  gut, 
and  particularly  of  the  large  intestine.  Thus,  in  one  case, 
Korte  *  removed,  along  with  part  of  the  small  intestine, 
a  considerable  part  of  the  large  intestine,  leaving  in  place 
only  the  terminal  portion.  The  patient,  who  underwent 
eight  successive  abdominal  operations,  recovered.  In  the 
case  f  of  another  patient,  operated  on  by  Wiesinger,  two 
coils  of  the  large  intestine  (the  transverse  and  descending 
colons)  which  were  ulcerated,  were  isolated  from  the  re- 
mainder of  the  gut,  while  the  upper  portion  of  the  large 
intestine  (the  caecum  and  the  ascending  colon)  was  sutured 
to  the  rectum.  In  spite  of  these  serious  interferences  with 
natural  structure,  the  patients  recovered,  and  appeared  to 
derive  great  advantage  from  the  loss  of  the  large  intestine. 

I  have  quoted  only  two  out  of  many  similar  cases.  How- 
ever, apart  from  surgical  evidence,  there  exists  proof  of  the 
uselessness  of  the  large  intestine  in  man.  The  best  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  the  proposition  may  be  drawn  from  the 
case  of  a  woman  who  for  thirty-seven  years  discharged 
the  waste  matter  from  the  alimentary  canal  through  an 
intestinal  fistula.  The  latter  had  opened  spontaneously,  as 
the  result  of  an  abscess  seated  on  the  right  side  of  the  abdo- 
men. Her  complaint,  however,  had  not  prevented  her  from 
marrying,  from  bearing  three  children,  nor  from  pursuing 
an  arduous  calling.  The  person  in  question,  who  was  a 
workwoman  in  Varsovie,  was  examined  by  a  surgeon,  M. 
Ciechomski,J  thirty-five  years  after  the  establishment  of 

*  "  Archiv  fur  klinische  Chirurgie,"  vol.  XLVIIL,  p.  715,  1894. 

f  "  Miinchener  medicinische  Wochenschrift,"   1898. 

J  "Archiv  fur  klinische  Chirurgie,"  vol.  XL VIII.,  p.  136,   1894. 


D.SHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION          71 

the  fistula.  The  surgeon  proposed  to  operate,  huping  to 
restore  her  to  the  normal  condition,  and  the  woman  con- 
sented. However,  when  the  abdominal  cavity  was  opened, 
it  appeared  that  the  large  intestine  had  atrophied  along  the 
whole  length,  from  the  caecum  to  the  rectum  ;  the  inner 
orifice  of  the  fistula  had  passed  into  the  digestive  tract 
above  the  caecum,  opening  into  the  small  intestine.  In  the 
circumstances  it  was  impossible  to  close  the  fistula,  and  the 
surgeon  had  to  close  up  the  abdominal  wall,  leaving  the 
patient  in  her  former  condition.  The  woman  recovered 
rapidly,  and  continued  her  usual  mode  of  life.  She  came 
under  observation  again  two  years  later,  but  since  then  had 
been  lost  sight  of.  The  fact  that  a  human  being  was  capable 
of  carrying  on  an  apparently  normal  life  for  thirty  years 
in  the  absence  of  a  large  intestine  is  good  proof  that  the 
organ  in  question  is  not  necessary  to  man,  although  it  has 
not  yet  become  rudimentary.  In  this  case  again,  to  find 
the  useful  stage  of  the  structure,  we  have  to  go  to  our 
remote  ancestors. 

The  large  intestine  is  much  better  developed  in  most 
herbivorous  mammals  than  it  is  in  carnivorous  forms. 
Although  it  is  useless  in  the  digestion  of  animal  food,  it  has 
an  undisputed  importance  in  the  digestion  of  vegetable 
matter.  It  has  a  very  large  calibre  in  herbivorous  creatures, 
and  the  voluminous  cavity  contains  quantities  of  microbes 
which  are  able  to  digest  cellulose.  As  cellulose  is  a  material 
that  resists  the  ordinary  processes  of  digestion,  it  is  easy 
to  see  the  advantage  derived  from  the  harbouring  of  the 
microbes.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  in  the  horse,  the 
rabbit,  and  in  some  other  mammals,  that  live  exclusively 
on  grain  and  herbage,  the  large  intestine  is  necessary  for 
normal  life. 

On    the    other   hand,    the    large    intestine   discharges  a 


72  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

function  similar  to  that  of  the  urinary  bladder.  The  urine, 
which  is  being  secreted  continuously  by  the  kidneys,  accu- 
mulates in  the  large  reservoir  provided  by  the  bladder. 
Similarly  the  waste  matter  from  the  processes  of  digestion 
accumulate  in  the  large  intestine  and  remain  there  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period. 

In  studying  the  natural  history  of  the  large  intestine,  it 
it  striking  that  this  portion  of  the  gut  is  well  developed  only 
among  mammals.  These  animals,  for  the  most  part,  lead 
an  extremely  active  terrestrial  life.  Most  of  them  have  to 
move  about  very  quickly,  the  predacious  forms  in  pursuit 
of  their  prey,  the  herbivorous  forms  to  escape  from  their 
enemies.  In  such  a  mode  of  life,  the  need  to  stop  in  order 
to  empty  the  intestines  would  be  a  serious  disadvantage, 
and  the  possibility  of  retaining  the  dejecta  in  a  large  reser- 
voir would  be  very  useful.* 

Such  are  the  causes  that  have  determined  the  growth  of 
the  large  intestine  among  mammals.  Birds,  which  live, 
so  to  speak,  in  the  air,  and  which  do  not  need  to  arrest  their 
locomotion  in  order  to  void  their  excreta,  have  no  large 
intestine.  Reptiles  and  amphibia,  although  they  live  a 
terrestrial  life,  do  not  require  a  voluminous  large  intestine, 
and  such  is  not  found  among  them.  These  animals  do  not 
have  a  fixed  temperature  ;  they  are  what  we  know  as  "  cold- 
blooded," and  in  consequence  are  small  eaters.  Most  of 
them  are  sluggish,  and  do  not  lead  an  active  existence  like 
that  of  mammals. 

In  the  legacy  acquired  by  man  from  his  animal  ancestors, 
there  occur  not  only  rudimentary  organs  that  are  useless  or 
harmful,  but  fully  developed  organs  equally  useless.  The 

*  This  topic  is  discussed  at  length  in  my  lecture,  published  in 
the  Memoirs  and  Proceedings  of  the  Manchester  Literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Society,  1901,  vol.  XLV.,  note  5. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION  73 

large  intestine  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  organs  possessed 
by  man  and  yet  harmful  to  his  health  and  his  life.  The 
large  intestine  is  the  reservoir  of  the  waste  of  the  digestive 
processes,  and  this  waste  stagnates  long  enough  to  putrefy. 
The  products  of  putrefaction  are  harmful.  When  faecal 
matter  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  intestine,  as  in  cases  of 
constipation,  a  common  complaint,  certain  products  are 
absorbed  by  the  organism  and  produce  poisoning,  often  of 
a  serious  nature.  Every  one  knows  that  a  high  temperature 
may  be  the  result  of  constipation  in  women  after  child- 
birth, or  in  patients  recovering  from  an  operation.  This 
is  due  to  an  absorption  of  substances  produced  by  the 
microbes  of  the  large  intestine.  Similar  products  may  be 
the  cause  of  an  attack  of  acne  or  of  other  skin  diseases. 
In  fine,  the  presence  of  a  large  intestine  in  the  human 
body  is  the  cause  of  a  series  of  misfortunes.  The  organ 
is  the  seat  of  many  grave  diseases,  among  which  dysentery 
is  notable.  In  some  tropical  climates  dysentery  is  a 
serious  scourge.  According  to  Rhey,*  it  is  "  the  greatest 
danger  to  which  a  European  is  subjected  in  Tonkin. 
It  is  responsible  for  more  than  30  per  cent,  of  the 
deaths  caused  by  disease."  European  troops  pay  it  a 
large  annual  toll  in  the  colonies  of  the  French  and 
English. 

Malignant  tumours  seem  to  display  a  predilection  for  this 
region  of  the  digestive  tract.  Thus,  among  1148  cases  of 
cancer  of  the  alimentary  tract  recorded  in  the  Prussian 
hospitals  in  1895  and  1896,  1022,  or  89  per  cent.,  affected 
the  large  intestine,  including  the  rectum  and  caecum. |  The 
small  intestine  is  the  only  part  of  the  digestive  tract 
that  is  indispensable,  and  it  is  attacked  to  a  much  smaller 

*  "Archives  de  Medicine  navale,"   1887. 

t  Ewald,  "KlinikdesVerdauungskrankheiten,"  vol.  III.,  p.  267,1902, 


74  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

extent,  providing  only  n  per  cent,  of  the  cases  of  intestinal 
cancer.  The  probable  explanation  of  these  facts  is  that 
the  contents  of  the  gut  remain  in  the  small  intestine  a 
shorter  time  than  in  the  large. 

Stagnation  is  a  familiar  cause  -of  disease,  and  is  the  pro- 
bable cause  of  the  frequency  of  cancer  of  the  stomach.  Of 
10,537  cases  of  cancer  of  all  parts  of  the  digestive  tract 
recorded  in  the  Prussian  hospitals  in  the  same  period,  4288, 
or  more  than  40  per  cent.,  affected  the  stomach.  The  latter 
organ  is  one  that  the  human  body  would  do  well  to  be  rid  of. 
It  is  not  so  useless  as  the  large  intestine,  since  it  is  the  chief 
seat  of  digestion  of  albuminous  substances,  but  the  small 
intestine  could  take  its  place.  Moreover,  cases  are  known 
in  which  surgeons  have  removed  cancerous  stomachs. 
The  results  of  such  operations  were  favourable,  to  the  ex- 
tent that  the  patients  survived  and  were  able  to  absorb 
sufficient  nourishment.  They  had  to  eat  rather  more 
frequently,  and  performed  the  processes  of  digestion 
by  means  of  the  secretions  of  the  small  intestine  and 
pancreas. 

It  is  not  surprising  to  find  so  many  instances  of  useless 
or  harmful  organs  in  the  alimentary  tract.  Our  ancestors 
were  creatures  that  fed  on  crude  and  rough  materials, 
such  as  wild  plants  and  unprepared  flesh.  Man  has  learned 
to  cultivate  plants  that  are  digested  easily,  and  to  prepare 
his  meats  in  such  a  fashion  as  to  be  readily  digested.  The 
organs  that  were  adapted  to  the  mode  of  life  of  the  animal 
predecessors  of  man  have  become  to  a  large  extent  super- 
fluous. Many  creatures  that  have  found  the  opportunity 
of  obtaining  their  nutriment  in  a  highly  digestible  condition 
have  lost,  more  or  less  completely,  the  digestive  organs. 
Many  parasites  are  instances  of  this,  as  for  example  the 
tape-worms,  which  live  in  the  human  digestive  tract,  bathed 


DISHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION          75 

by  a  nutritive  fluid  which  they  absorb  directly  ;  they  have 
lost  the  digestive  tract  completely. 

In  the  case  of  man  such  an  evolution  has  not  occurred, 
and  there  remains  in  the  body  a  harmful  organ  like  the 
large  intestine.  In  consequence,  it  is  impossible  for  him 
to  take  his  nutriment  in  the  most  perfect  form.  If  he  were 
only  to  eat  substances  that  could  be  almost  completely 
absorbed,  the  large  intestine  would  be  unable  to  empty 
itself,  and  serious  complications  would  be  produced.  A 
satisfactory  system  of  diet  has  to  make  allowance  for  this, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  structure  of  the  alimentary  canal, 
has  to  include  in  the  food  bulky  and  indigestible  materials 
such  as  vegetables. 

At  this  point  I  may  refer  to  a  topic  of  considerable  general 
interest.  Animals,  in  the  choice  of  food  for  themselves  or 
for  their  young,  are  guided  by  a  blind  and  innate  instinct. 
As  I  have  shown  in  my  second  chapter,  creatures  like  the 
fossorial  wasps  select  only  particular  species  of  spiders  or 
insects.  Instinct  directs  them  to  the  kind  of  food  best 
suited  to  the  wants  of  their  progeny.  Bees  are  attracted 
by  the  sweet  juices  'of  flowers  ;  the  silkworm  instinctively 
devours  the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  and  rejects  most 
other  plants.  In  higher  animals,  instinct  plays  the  chief 
part  in  the  choice  of  food.  The  difficulty  of  getting  rats 
to  eat  poisoned  food  is  well  known  ;  an  instinct  warns 
them  of  the  danger  of  the  material  offered  to  them. 
In  the  same  way  dogs  refrain  from  food  that  has  been 
poisoned. 

Every  one  has  seen  the  minute  attention  bestowed  by  a 
monkey  on  food  before  beginning  to  eat  it.  It  turns  over 
what  is  offered,  smells  it  carefully,  cleans  it,  and  before 
beginning  to  eat,  subjects  it  to  an  examination  that  seems 
to  us  ridiculous.  Monkeys  often  throw  away  food  without 


76  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

even  biting  it.  None  the  less,  in  spite  of  an  instinct  so 
highly  developed,  monkeys  poison  themselves  with  all  sorts 
of  dangerous  substances,  even  when  these  exhale  a  strange 
odour.  I  have  seen  monkeys  die  poisoned  by  the  phos- 
phorus of  matches,  or  even  by  iodoform  which  they  had 
contrived  to  steal. 

In  the  case  of  man,  aberrations  of  instinct  in  the  choice 
of  food  are  common.  As  soon  as  babies  begin  to  walk,  they 
lay  hold  of  everything  and  try  to  eat  it.  Bits  of  paper, 
lumps  of  sealing-wax,  the  mucous  matter  from  the  nose, 
all  appear  to  them  to  be  things  to  eat.  Constant  guard 
has  to  be  kept  to  prevent  them  from  doing  themselves  an 
injury.  Fruits  and  berries  they  cannot  resist.  Cases  of 
poisoning  very  naturally  are  extremely  frequent,  and  as 
every  one  must  know  of  instances,  I  shall  mention  only  a 
single  case.  "  Messrs.  Beadle  and  Sons,  oil  manufacturers 
at  Boston,  had  thrown  out,  from  the  door  of  their  estab- 
lishment, a  quantity  of  castor  beans  that  were  decayed  and 
useless.  Some  children  playing  in  the  street  mistook  the 
seeds  for  pistachio  nuts,  and  shared  them  with  their  friends. 
All  the  children  seem  to  have  eaten  of  them,  with  the  result 
that  more  than  seventy  showed  serious  symptoms  of 
poisoning."  * 

The  consumption  of  ergotised  rye  and  of  maize  con- 
taminated with  certain  leguminous  plants  (Lathyrus)  fre- 
quently produces  epidemics  of  poisoning  without  instinct 
intervening  to  protect  the  victims. 

While  the  large  intestine,  acting  as  an  asylum  of  harmful 
microbes,  is  a  source  of  intoxication  from  within,  the  aberrant 
instinct  of  man  leads  him  to  poison  himself  from  without 
with  alcohol  and  ether,  opium  and  morphia.  The  wide- 

*  Stillmarck,  in  "  Arbeiten  des  pharmacologischen  Institutes  zu 
Dorpat/'  vol.  III.,  p.  no,  1889. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   DIGESTION          77 

spread  results  of  alcoholism  show  plainly  the  prevalent 
existence  in  man  of  a  want  of  harmony  between  the  instinct 
for  choosing  food  and  the  instinct  of  preservation. 

The  digestive  apparatus,  then,  affords  abundant  proof 
of  the  imperfection  and  disharmony  of  our  nature.  More- 
over, there  are  many  other  proofs,  as  I  shall  show  in 
the  chapters  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  V 

DISHARMONIES  IN  THE  ORGANISATION  AND  ACTIVITIES 
OF  THE  REPRODUCTIVE  APPARATUS.  DISHARMO- 
NIES IN  THE  FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS 

I 

Remarks  on  the  disharmonies  in  the  human  organs  of  sense 
and  perception. — Rudimentary  parts  of  the  reproductive 
apparatus. — Origin  and  function  of  the  hymen 

THE  digestive  organs  are  not  alone  amongst  the  parts  of 
the  human  body  in  exhibiting  a  greater  or  lesser  dishar- 
mony. More  than  fifty  years  ago,  a  great  German  physio- 
logist, Johannes  Miiller,  showed  that  although  the  human 
eye  was  regarded  as  a  very  perfect  organ,  its  power  of 
correction  for  aberration  of  light  was  poor.  Helmholz, 
another  famous  German  man  of  science,  stated  that  the 
optical  study  of  the  eye  brought  complete  disillusion. 
"  Nature,"  he  said,  "  seems  to  have  packed  this  organ  with 
mistakes,  as  if  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  destroying  any 
possible  foundation  for  the  theory  that  organs  are  adapted 
to  their  environment."  Not  only  the  eye,  but  the  other 
organs  by  means  of  which  we  are  conscious  of  the  outside 
world,  present  natural  disharmony.  Therein  lies  the  cause 
of  our  want  of  certainty  about  the  sources  of  our  percep- 
tions. Memory,  the  faculty  that  registers  our  mental 
processes,  becomes  active  much  later  than  other  faculties 
lodged  in  the  brain.  If  the  new-born  human  child  were 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     79 

relatively  as  well  developed  as  the  young  guinea-pig,  it  is 
probable  that  we  should  know  far  more  as  to  the  history 
of  our  consciousnees  of  the  external  world.  But  without 
lingering  over  the  disharmonies  in  our  senses  and  faculties, 
I  shall  pass  at  once  to  a  consideration  of  the  apparatus  for 
maintaining  the  species. 

I  have  shown  that  the  alimentary  tract,  the  chief  organ 
involved  in  the  maintenance  of  the  individual  life,  affords 
no  proof  of  the  theory  that  human  nature  is  perfect.  Is  it 
the  case  that  the  organs  of  reproduction  give  a  better 
result  ?  When  I  wished  to  describe  the  most  perfect 
examples  of  harmony  to  be  found  amongst  plants,  I  chose 
the  mechanism  by  which  fertilisation  is  accomplished  in 
flowers.  The  persistence  of  the  species  is  secured,  in  the 
case  of  flowers,  by  a  marvellous  series  of  structures  and 
functions. 

Is  the  maintenance  of  the  human  species  similarly  pro- 
vided for  ?  A  detailed  investigation  of  the  male  and 
female  human  reproductive  organs  shows  that  these  contain 
parts  of  diverse  origin.  The  apparatus  contains  portions 
of  extremely  ancient  origin,  and  portions  that  have  been 
acquired  recently.  The  internal  organs  display  traces  of 
a  remote  hermaphroditism.  In  the  male,  there  occur  traces 
of  the  female  apparatus,  rudiments  of  the  uterus  and  fallo- 
pian tubes.  In  the  female,  on  the  other  hand,  rudiments 
of  the  male  structure  persist.  These  traces  date  very  far 
back  in  the  history  of  the  race,  for  they  occur  also  in  most 
other  vertebrates.  The  facts  seem  to  indicate  that,  at  a 
very  remote  period,  the  ancestral  vertebrates  were  herma- 
phrodite, and  that  they  became  divided  into  males  and 
females  only  gradually,  still  retaining  in  each  sex  traces  of 
the  other  sex.  Such  traces  occur  frequently,  even  in  adult 
man,  in  the  form  of  rudimentary  organs  (known  as  the 


80  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

organs  of  Weber,  of  Rosenmiiller,  and  so  forth).  The 
rudiments  not  only  are  functionless  but  sometimes,  as  fre- 
quently happens  with  atrophied  structures,  form  the  start- 
ing-point of  monstrous  growths,  or  of  tumours  that  interfere 
with  health.  Thus  the  hypertrophy  of  a  part  of  the  male 
prostate  gland  (the  organ  of  Weber)  brings  about  the  forma- 
tion of  a  uterus  masculinus,  and  so  produces  a  sort  of 
abnormal  hermaphroditism.  The  rudimentary  organs  in 
the  male  reproductive  apparatus  frequently  are  the  starting- 
points  of  hydatid  cysts.  In  the  female,  cysts  such  as  those 
of  the  parovaria  are  produced  by  the  proliferation  of  rudi- 
mentary structures.  These,  although  usually  benign,  not 
infrequently  become  malignant.  Lawson  Tait,*  a  cele- 
brated English  surgeon,  has  published  a  case  of  this  kind. 
He  removed  from  a  young  woman  a  parovarian  cyst  that 
was  apparently  benign,  but  in  six  weeks  symptoms  of  cancer 
arose,  and  the  patient  died  of  cancer  in  three  months. 

A  comparison  of  the  rudimentary  organs  in  the  human 
reproductive  apparatus  with  those  in  the  similar  structures 
of  lower  animals,  shows  that  many  relics  have  degenerated 
further  in  man  than  in  other  animals.  Thus  the  duct  of 
the  embryonic  kidney  (known  as  the  Wolffian  body)  is  of 
'rare  occurrence  in  adult  man,  although  it  is  retained  through- 
out life  in  the  case  of  some  herbivorous  animals,  in  which  it 
is  known  as  Gaertner's  duct.  There  are,  however,  many 
rudimentary  organs  in  the  human  reproductive  apparatus, 
organs  that  are  always  useless  and  not  infrequently  more 
or  less  harmful  to  health  and  life. 

Alongside  organs  which  have  been  useless  from  time 
immemorial,  the  reproductive  system  of  man  possesses 
structures  of  recent  acquisition.  These  deserve  special 

*  The  case  is  quoted  in  Pozzi's  "  Traite  de  Gynecologic,"  p.  714, 
1890. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     81 

attention,  as  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  in  them 
would  have  been  found  special  instances  of  adaptation  to 
the  reproductive  function. 

I  have  already  referred  (chap,  iii.)  to  the  discussions 
that  have  taken  place  over  the  simian  origin  of  man.  All 
attempts  to  demonstrate  the  presence  in  the  human  brain 
of  parts  that  were  absent  in  the  simian  brain  have  failed. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  man  displays  a  more  marked  differ- 
ence from  monkeys  in  the  structure  of  the  reproductive 
system  than  in  the  structure  of  the  brain.  There  is  no  os 
penis  in  man.  This  bone,  which  facilitates  intromission, 
occurs  in  many  vertebrates,  not  only  among  rodents  and 
carnivora,  which  are  widely  separated  from  man,  but  in 
many  monkeys,  and  most  notably  in  anthropoid  apes.*  For 
some  reason  impossible  to  establish,  man  has  lost  this  bone. 
It  may  be  that  certain  ossifications  of  most  rare  occurrence  f 
may  represent  an  atavistic  inheritance  from  our  remote 
ancestors. 

In  the  male  sex  the  difference  between  man  and  the 
anthropoid  ape  is  the  loss  of  an  organ  ;  in  the  female  sex 
it  is  the  acquisition  of  an  organ.  The  hymen,  the  physical 
indication  of  virginity,  is  peculiar  to  the  human  race.  That 
organ  would  serve  the  purpose  of  those  disputants  who  make 
every  effort  to  discover  the  existence  of  a  structure  peculiarly 
human,  far  better  than  the  posterior  lobe  of  the  brain,  or 
the  hippocampus  minor.  Bischoff  |  has  determined  its 
absence  in  the  anthropoid  apes,  and  his  result  has  been 

*  Crisp,  "  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London,"  p.  48, 
1865. 

t  Lenhossek,  in  Virchow's  "Archiv.  fur  pathologische  Anatomie," 
vol.  XL.,  p.  i. 

J  "  Abhandlungen  der  mathem.-physikal.  Classe  d.  K.  Bayerisch. 
Akad.  d.  Wissensoh.  Miinchen,"  vol.  XIII.,  Part  II.,  p.  268,  1880. 

F 


82  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

confirmed  by  other  observers.  Deniker  *  failed  to  find 
it  either  in  the  foetal  gorilla  or  in  the  young  gorilla.  In 
the  case  of  the  foetus  of  the  gibbon,  he  found  a  slight  ele- 
vation round  the  entrance  to  the  vagina  "  which  might  be 
homologised  with  the  hymen,"  •}•  but  which,  however,  was 
not  the  membrane  in  question.  Deniker  J  himself  decided 
that  the  "  membrane  was  absent  in  anthropoid  apes  at  all 
ages."  Weidersheim,  in  his  summary  of  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  human  body,§  also  sets  down  the  fact  that  "  in. 
monkeys  a  hymen  is  not  present." 

The  fact  that  this  structure  appears  late  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  female  foetus  bears  out  the  supposition  that  it 
has  been  acquired  recently  by  the  race.  According  to 
several  observers,  who  agree  in  this  matter,  the  membrane 
does  not  develop  until  at  least  the  nineteenth  week  of 
foetal  life. 

Although  organs  very  ancient  in  origin,  and  now  become 
degenerate  rudiments,  may  be  useless,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  an  organ  of  recent  appearance  and  still  in  a  progressive 
condition,  would  have  an  important  function.  Of  what 
utility  is  this  membrane  to  a  woman  ?  Wiedersheim  || 
remarks  that  its  function  has  not  been  made  out. 

The  hymen  sometimes  plays  a  large  part  in  family  and 
social  relations,  and,  regarded  as  the  evidence  for  virginity, 
has  had  moral  significance  bestowed  on  it.  A  minute 
examination  of  this  structure  is  frequently  a  part  of  the 
judicial  procedure  in  cases  of  supposed  rape  and  so  forth. 
The  destruction  of  the  hymen  has  led  to  the  death  of  many 
hundreds  of  men  and  women. 

From  our  point  of  view,  however,  it  is  the  possible  physio- 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  245.  f  Loc.  cit.  p.  250. 

J  Loc.  cit.  p.  253.  §  Loc.  cit.  p.  163. 

II  Loc.  cit.  p.  208. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     83 

logical  function  of-  this  structure  that  is  interesting.  It 
seems  impossible  to  conclude  otherwise  than  that  in  existing 
races  it  has  practically  no  functional  value.  Its  atrophy 
as  the  result  of  sexual  congress  not  only  is  no  bar  to  sexual 
relations,  but  removes  an  unpleasant  impediment.  In 
many  races  the  structure  is  removed  as  soon  as  possible. 
In  some  parts  of  China  it  is  destroyed  as  part  of  the  toilet 
of  young  children,  and  indeed  many  Chinese  physicians  are 
ignorant  of  its  existence.  A  similar  state  of  affairs  occurs 
in  some  parts  of  India.  In  Brazil,  among  the  tribe  of 
Machacuras,  virgins,  in  the  European  sense,  do  not  exist, 
for  the  mothers  destroy  the  hymen  in  female  children  soon 
after  birth.  In  Kamchatka  the  aborigines  regard  it  as 
disgraceful  to  be  married  with  the  hymen  intact,  and  the 
mothers  operate  on  their  daughters.*  Among  other  races, 
again,  the  disagreeable  duty  of  defloration  is  assigned  to 
special  persons.  Among  the  natives  of  the  Philippines 
there  formerly  existed  well-paid  public  officials  the  duty  of 
whom  was  to  destroy  the  virginity  of  the  girls  and  so  to 
make  marriage  pleasanter  for  the  husbands.  A  similar 
custom  occurs  among  the  inhabitants  of  New  Caledonia, 
and  Moncelon  states  that  there  virginity  is  held  in  little 
esteem.  "  I  have  proof  of  the  curious  circumstance,"  he 
wrote,  "  that  when  a  husband  shrinks  from  destroying  the 
virginity  of  his  wife,  he  employs  some  one  from  a  regular 
profession  to  take  his  place." 

Such  examples,  selected  from  amongst  many,  may  be 
taken  as  proof  that  even  such  a  peculiar  and  recently 
acquired  organ  has  not  a  physiological  use. 

On  the  other  hand,  especially  among  Christians  and 
Mahomedans,  the  existence  of  the  hymen  in  an  intact 

*  Ploss-Bartels  in  "  Das  Weib,"  Seventh  Edition,  1902.  Vol. 
II.,  pp.  228-229  is  the  source  conformation  on  this  matter. 


84  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

condition  is  regarded  as  very  important.  The  ancient  Jews 
began  to  set  a  high  value  on  virginity.  According  to  the 
old  Mosaic  law,  if,  at  the  time  of  her  marriage,  a  young  girl 
were  found  to  be  no  longer  a  virgin,  "  Then  they  shall  bring 
out  the  damsel  to  the  door  of  her  father's  house,  and  the 
men  of  her  city  shall  stone  her  with  stones  that  she  die ; 
because  she  hath  wrought  folly  in  Israel,  to  play  the  whore 
in  her  father's  house"  (Deut.  xxii.  21).  The  religions  that 
have  sprung  from  Judaism  have  retained  this  old  view 
of  virginity,  although  in  an  attenuated  form.  Among  some 
Christian  peoples,  material  proofs  of  virginity  at  the  time  of 
marriage  are  demanded,  and  among  some  Mahomedans  such 
proofs  are  exhibited  to  friends  and  relations  on  the  day 
after  marriage.  However,  the  actual  defloration  is  not 
always  left  to  the  husband,  but  among  Arabs  and  Copts  and 
amongst  the  natives  of  Egypt,  the  operation  is  performed 
by  a  specially  selected  matron.* 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  this  membrane  is  of  no  direct  service 
in  the  sexual  process.  It  may  even  give  rise  to  more  or 
less  serious  misfortune.  Thus,  when  it  is  unusually  rigid, 
the  adjacent  peritoneum  may  be  torn  and  the  results  may 
be  disastrous.  Occasionally  the  rupture  of  an  abnormally 
vascular  membrane  may  give  rise  to  bleeding  of  a  prolonged 
and  even  fatal  character.!  Moreover  the  membrane  is  a 
frequent  seat  of  ulcers,  specific  or  otherwise.  $ 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  among  some  races  a 
rigorous  toilet  involves  the  destruction  of  the  hymen.  It 
is  plain  that  the  existence  of  the  membrane  interferes 
with  strict  hygiene  of  the  vagina,  especially  at  the  periods. 

*  Ploss-Bartels,  loc.  cit.  vol.  I.,  p.  489. 
t  Pozzi,  "Traite  de  Gynecologic,"  p.  1067,  1890. 
%  "  Real-encyclopadie  d.  Gesammten  Heilkunde,"  Second  Edition, 
vol.  X.,  p.  34,  1885. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     85 

Probably  some  blood  is  retained  by  the  membrane  and 
furnishes  a  soil  for  microbes  that  may  be  dangerous  to  health. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  certain  forms  of  anaemia,  as  for 
instance  the  chloranaemia  of  virgins,  may  be  produced  by 
microbal  growth.  This  would  easily  explain  why  marriage 
is  the  readiest  cure  for  such  anaemia,  as  marriage  involves 
destruction  of  the  membrane,  and  so  makes  possible  the 
complete  discharge  of  fluid  from  the  vagina.* 

What  then  can  be  the  meaning  of  this  organ,  useless  as 
it  is  for  the  sexual  functions,  sometimes  dangerous  to  health, 
an  organ  that  is  no  ancestral  heritage  and  that  must  be 
destroyed  by  the  act  of  sexual  union  ?  Formerly,  when  it 
was  accepted  that  characters  acquired  in  individual  life 
could  be  transmitted  to  offspring,  the  question  was  asked 
as  to  why  this  membrane  had  not  disappeared.  The 
instance  was  one  of  those  which  helped  to  overthrow  the 
dogma  of  the  inheritance  of  acquired  characters. 

Although  it  is  useless  to  existing  man,  this  organ  may  yet 
come  to  be  explained  by  science.  As  yet  we  have  to  fall 
back  on  suppositions.  The  hypothesis  which  seems  most 
probable  is  that  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  existence  of  the 
human  race,  sexual  relations  were  begun  at  a  very  early 
age,  before  the  male  organs  were  mature.  Under  such 
circumstances  the  hymen  would  not  only  not  have  been 
a  barrier,  but  would  have  made  congress  more  satisfactory. 
Gradually  the  hymen  would  have  become  dilated  without 
being  torn,  until  it  was  capable  of  admitting  the  adult  organ. 
This  hypothesis  implies  that  in  early  times  the  membrane 
was  not  brutally  torn,  but  that  it  was  gradually  dilated  and 
that  violent  rupture  is  a  modern  necessity.  In  support  of 

*  It  would  be  interesting  to  find  out  whether  or  no  Hindoo  or 
Chinese  virgins  suffer  from  chlorancemia  ;  at  present  we  have  no 
information  on  this  matter. 


86  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

the  hypothesis  it  may  be  mentioned  that  amongst  certain 
living  races  sexual  union  begins  at  a  very  early  age.  In 
Ceylon,  marriage  takes  place  when  the  boys  are  from  seven 
to  ten  years  old  and  when  the  girls  are  from  four  to  six 
years,  according  to  Roer,  or  about  eight  years  according  to 
Beierlein.  After  the  actual  wedding  ceremony  the  bride 
returns  to  the  house  of  her  parents,  and  it  is  only  a  few 
years  later,  when  she  is  adult,  that  she  goes  to  her  husband. 
Roer  states  that  he  has  seen  cases  where  a  father  and  son 
were  attending  school  together. 

Among  the  Vedas,  a  low  caste  of  tropical  India,  boys 
marry  at  the  age  of  from  fifteen  to  sixteen  years,  certainly 
before  the  sexual  organs  have  attained  their  full  dimensions. 
The  missionary  Etern  was  struck  with  the  agitation  of  the 
natives  of  Keradif  (in  Abyssinia)  when  they  were  ordered 
within  fourteen  days  to  marry  all  their  boys  more  than 
fourteen  years  old  to  girls  more  than  nine.*  In  Mada- 
gascar, in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was 
the  custom  for  boys  to  marry  at  an  age  of  from  ten  to 
twelve  years.  The  natives  of  German  New  Guinea  many 
their  boys  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  fifteen.  Even  in 
England  a  law  still  exists  permitting  marriage  to  boys 
fourteen  years  old.  The  law  is  now  a  dead  letter,  but  is 
evidence  of  the  ancient  practice. 

It  is  known  that  even  at  the  present  time  the  hymen  is 
not  always  ruptured  in  sexual  congress.  Budin  has  recorded 
its  existence  in  seventeen  per  cent,  of  primiparous  women. 
Among  seventy-five  cases  of  women  in  their  first  confinements 
he  found  the  hymen  intact  in  thirteen  cases.  Since  pro- 
vision for  children  has  fallen  on  fathers  these  have  taken 
to  deferring  marriage  to  a  later  age  than  when  children 
were  left  to  the  mother.  That  is  the  probable  reason  why 
*  Ploss-Bartels,  loc.  cit.  p.  622. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     87 

there  are  now  fewer  married  boys.  Thus,  formerly,  the 
proportion  of  women  who  at  the  first  childbirth  still  pos- 
sessed unruptured  hymens,  was  much  greater,  and  it  is  not 
difficult  to  suppose  that  in  still  earlier  times  such  a  condition 
was  normal.  It  is  plain  that  there  is  here  an  instance  of 
a  very  recently  acquired  disharmony. 

The  homology  between  certain  portions  of  the  male  and 
female  reproductive  apparatus  is  well  known.  The  male 
homologue  of  the  female  hymen  is  a  little  fold  that  hinders 
the  mingling  of  urine  with  the  seminal  fluid  during  emis- 
sion, and  that  is  known  to  anatomists  as  the  caput  gallina- 
ginis  or  colliculus  seminalis.  It  is  very  much  smaller  than 
the  hymen,  so  that  we  cannot  regard  the  latter  as  a  rudi- 
mentary homologue  of  a  useful  organ.  However,  the  pre- 
puce of  the  male  is  a  clear  instance  of  the  presence  in  the 
male  organs  of  useless  parts.  It  is  removed  by  circumcision 
among  very  many  races,  such  as  the  Hebrews  and  Arabs, 
and  other  Mahomedans,  and  amongst  Persians,  negroes, 
Hindus,  Tartars,  and  its  absence  seems  to  bring  about  no 
inconvenience. 

II 

Evolution  and  significance  of  the  menstrual  flow  in  women. — 
Precocious  marriage  among  primitive  and  uncivilised 
races. — Disharmony  between  age  of  puberty  and  age  of 
nubility. — Age  of  marriage. — Examples  of  disharmony 
in  the  development  of  the  reproductive  function. 

Notwithstanding  their  imperfections,  the  human  organs  of 
reproduction  are  able  to  fulfil  their  functions.  A  close 
scrutiny,  however,  shows  that  there  are  many  sides  on 
which  they  are  disharmonious  or  badly  adapted. 

The  occurrence  of  bleeding  is  usually  a  sign  of  disease. 


88  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

Bleeding  from  the  nose  or  of  the  lungs  or  intestines  or 
kidneys  is  an  indication  of  disease  more  or  less  serious. 
Discharge  of  blood  from  the  female  reproductive  organs 
may  also  be  an  indication  of  disease,  -  as  for  instance  when 
due  to  tumours  of  the  uterus.  The  only  exception  to  the 
rule  is  the  periodic  flow  in  the  case  of  women,  by  which  they 
lose  hundreds  of  grammes  of  blood  (100  to  600  gr.).  There 
is  something  paradoxical  in  such  a  physiological  occurrence, 
and  it  deserves  minute  consideration. 

These  periodic  losses,  unlike  the  possession  of  a  hymen, 
are  not  a  peculiarity  of  the  human  female.  "  Heat  "  in 
lower  animals  is  analogous,  although  in  that  case  the  chief 
indications  are  swellings  of  the  mucous  membrane  with  a 
slight  discharge  of  fluid,  hardly  tinged  with  blood.  The  state 
indicates  the  awakening  of  the  sexual  instinct  and  readiness 
for  coition.*  Among  monkeys  there  has  been  observed  a 
flow  much  more  closely  resembling  that  of  woman.  In  the 
case  of  macaques  and  cercopitheci,  it  has  been  observed 
even  that  the  flow  is  monthly.  Heape,f  while  in  British 
India,  took  advantage  of  a  valuable  opportunity  for  making 
observations  on  this  subject. 

Among  two  hundred  and  thirty  females  of  Macacus  rhesus 
of  which  the  greater  number  were  adult  or  nearly  so,  seven- 
teen displayed  signs  of  menstruation,  consisting  of  a  swelling 
of  the  genitalia  accompanied  by  the  discharge  of  a  pale  and 
viscid  fluid.  Usually  the  flow  assumed  a  pale  rose  tint,  due 
to  the  presence  in  it  of  blood  corpuscles,  but  cases  where 
it  was  highly  coloured  were  rare. 

Although  they  are  distinctly  analogous  to  the  menstrual 

*  Saint  Cyr,  "  Traite  d'obstetrique  veterinaire,"  p.  52,  Second 
Edition,  1888. 

t  Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London, 
1897,  pp.  135-166. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     89 

flows  of  women,  these  occurrences  in  monkeys  are  distin- 
guished by  the  predominance  of  the  swelling  of  the  genitalia, 
the  viscid  character  of  the  discharge,  and  the  relative 
absence  of  blood.  They  present  a  condition  intermediate 
between  the  "  heat "  of  lower  animals  and  the  human 
phenomena. 

In  anthropoid  apes  a  similar  menstruation  has  been 
observed.  Bolau,  Ehlers,  and  Hermes,  record  it  in  the  case 
of  the  chimpanzee.  "  At  this  period,"  wrote  Hartmann,* 
"  swelling  and  reddening  of  the  genitalia  occurred.  The 
labiae  ma j  ores,  which  are  usually  inconspicuous,  enlarged 
greatly,  and  a  similar  increase  took  place  in  the  labiae  minores 
and  the  clitoris." 

In  the  case  of  women  swelling  of  the  genitalia  is  very 
slightly  marked,  and  the  chief  occurrence  is  the  flow  of 
blood.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  something  new  has  been 
acquired  in  the  menstruation  of  women. 

The  condition  of  the  flow  at  the  present  time  is  probably 
the  result  of  modifications  acquired  recently  in  the  history 
of  the  race.  Among  primitive  peoples  sexual  union  occurred 
at  a  very  early  age,  and  pregnancy  occurred  before  menstrua- 
tion. The  latter  did  not  appear  during  pregnancy  nor  in 
the  time  of  suckling,  and  probably  the  latter  was  hardly 
over  before  a  new  pregnancy  had  occurred.  In  that  way 
there  was  no  opportunity  for  the  onset  of  menstruation. 

The  human  capacity  for  procreation  throughout  the  year 
made  the  race  extremely  prolific.  Probably  this  prolificness 
is  the  reason  why  man  has  spread  over  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  has  multiplied  so  enormously,  in  spite  of  the 
barriers  to  his  progress  and  the  high  rate  of  mortality  to 
which  he  is  subjected. 

*  "  Verhandlungen  der  Berliner  Gesellschaft  fur  Anthropologie," 
p.  88,  1876. 


90  THE    NATURE   OF    MAN 

Instances  are  known  from  recent  observation  of  preg- 
nancies occurring  before  the  onset  of  menstruation.  Accord- 
ing to  Rhode,  among  the  Guatos,  Indians  inhabiting  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  Sao  Lourenzo  in  Paraguay,  married  women 
not  more  than  five  to  eight  years  of  age  are  to  be  met  with, 
and  these  must  have  married  before  menstruation.  Among 
the  Vedas  of  tropical  India,  girls  marry  before  they  are  nine 
years  of  age,  and  have  relations  with  their  husbands  before 
sexual  maturity.  In  Chiras  in  Persia,  girls  marry  beTore 
puberty,  and  while  their  chests  are  still  flat.  In  Syria, 
according  to  Robson,  girls  marry  at  the  age  of  ten,  and  so 
before  puberty.  Du  Chaillu  related  that  the  Achira  of 
West  Africa  did  not  defer  marriage  until  after  the  appear- 
ance of -puberty.  Abbadie,  while  on  his  voyage  in  Nubia, 
found  that  men  bought  young  girls  and  had  sexual  relations 
with  them  before  the  time  of  menstruation.  Among  the 
Atj eh  of  Sumatra,-  girls  marry  at  an  age  certainly  before 
that  of  puberty,  as  they  have  hardly  lost  their  first  set  of 
teeth.  Although  the  husbands  are  a  few  years  older,  they 
are  still  unfitted  for  sexual  union.  The  couples  sleep  together, 
and  attempt  sexual  union  before  they  are  fitted  for  it. 
Among  the  islanders  of  Viti,  again,  marriage  takes  place 
before  puberty. 

The  ancient  Hindoos  married  at  a  very  early  age.  Bot- 
lingk  quotes  from  the  Sanscrit  poems  in  which  hell  was 
awarded  to  the  fathers  of  girls  who  had  not  been  married 
when  puberty  came  on.  In  other  verses  it  was  written 
that  not  only  the  father  but  also  the  mother  and  the  elder 
brother  were  to  be  carried  down  into  hell  if  the  daughter 
began  to  menstruate  before  she  had  been  married  ;  the  girl 
herself  was  to  descend  to  the  lowest  degree  of  £udra,  and 
was  never  to  be  taken  as  a  wife. 

There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  possible  fertility  of  marriages 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION      91 

contracted  at  these  early  ages.  Polak  *  gives  examples 
taken  from  Persia.  It  is  not  necessary  for  impregnation  that 
it  should  have  been  preceded  by  a  menstrual  flow.  Facts 
making  this  clear  have  occurred  not  only  in  warm  climates 
but  in  our  own  latitude.  Rakhmanoff,f  in  Russia,  attended 
in  childbirth  a  woman  not  more  than  fourteen  years  of  age, 
of  poor  constitution,  and  badly  nourished,  and  with  features 
still  infantine.  Menstruation  had  not  yet  taken  place  ;  the 
confinement  was  normal. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  former  times  these 
early  marriages  of  girls  under  the  age  of  puberty  were  more 
common,  if  indeed  they  were  not  customary.  In  such  cir- 
cumstances menstruation  would  have  been  a  rare  pheno- 
menon. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  examples  of  menstruation 
observed  in  the  case  of  monkeys  were  taken  from  creatures 
living  in  abnormal  conditions,  isolated  in  zoological  gardens 
and  passing  their  lives  in  captivity.  It  is  highly  probable  that 
the  periods  as  they  exist  to-day,  with  copious  sanguineous 
discharge,  are  a  recent  acquisition  of  the  human  race. 

As  he  emerged  from  the  primitive  condition  man  had 
to  restrain  his  prolificness.  The  history  of  savages  and  of 
civilisations  shows  that  progress  and  culture  have  been 
accompanied  by  a  rise  in  the  age  for  marriage.  In  this  way 
the  menstrual  periods  could  develop  without  check,  and 
attain  the  present  condition.  In  these  circumstances  it  is 
not  wonderful  that  menstruation  should  appear  so  abnormal 
and  even  pathological.  A  copious  discharge  of  blood,  pre- 
ceded and  accompanied  by  pain  and  by  nervous  and  mental 
distress  as  so  frequently  happens,  has  no  apparent  kinship 
with  the  processes  of  normal  life. 

*  Ploss-Bartels,  loc.  cit.  p.  625. 

f  Vratch,  in  Russian,  p.  1456,  1901. 


92  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

It  is  now  easy  to  see  why  among  so  many  races  there  are 
special  rules  made  for  women  during  this  period.  Most  of 
the  races  of  the  earth,  says  Ploss,  regard  menstruating 
women  as  impure.  The  occurrence  is  so  widespread  that 
it  is  unnecessary  to  adduce  particular  cases,  but  a  few  with 
some  point  of  special  interest  may  be  noticed.  Thus,  among 
the  Hindoos  a  high-caste  woman  is  regarded  as  a  pariah  in 
the  first  day  of  the  period,  and  as  one  of  the  murderers  of 
Buddha  on  the  second  day.  Among  many  races  a  woman 
in  this  condition  is  forbidden  to  come  near  men,  or  to  touch 
a  number  of  objects,  as  she  is  regarded  as  capable  of  setting 
up  many  diseases  and  of  doing  serious  damage.  The  Germans 
of  the  eighteenth  century  believed  that  the  hair  of  a  men- 
struating woman  buried  in  manure  would  engender  snakes. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  origin  of  menstruation  has 
been  attributed  frequently  to  evil  spirits.  The  Iranians  held 
that  it  appeared  first  in  Dchahi,  the  goddess  of  immorality.* 
Such  opinions  implied  vaguely  that  there  was  something 
abnormal  in  the  process.  The  history  of  the  evolution  of 
menstruation  explains  well  the  origin  of  such  a  notion. 

Another  bizarre  and  apparently  abnormal  feature  of  the 
reproductive  processes  receives  explanation  in  the  history 
of  its  evolution.  The  feature  in  question  is  the  painfulness 
of  childbirth.  It  is  truly  astonishing  and  singular  to  find 
a  phenomenon  essentially  normal  from  the  point  of  view 
of  physiology  accompanied  by  pain  of  so  marked  a  cha- 
racter. No  doubt  other  animals  suffer  during  labour,  but 
among  the  mammalia  woman  undergoes  the  severest  pain. 

Observations  made  on  several  Europeans  who  have  been 

brought  to  bed  at  an  abnormally  early  age   have    shown 

that,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  parturition  was  easy  and 

the  sequelae  normal. f     Moreover,  Dr.  Dionij  has  stated  his 

*  Ploss-Bartels,  loc.  cit.  p.  443.  f  Rakhmanoff, 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     93 

opinion  that  of  two  cases  of  a  first  childbirth  at  the  ages 
respectively  of  fifteen  and  of  forty  years,  he  would  prefer 
the  earlier  age.  The  daughters  of  the  colonists  in  the 
Antilles  were  accustomed  to  marry  at  very  early  ages.  In 
1667  Du  Tertre  related  that  a  young  woman  of  that  region 
had  informed  him  that  the  birth  of  her  first  child  took  place 
when  she  was  twelve  years  and  a  half  of  age,  and  that  the 
process  lasted  no  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  and 
had  been  painless.  The  missionary  Beierlein  practised  for 
long  in  Madras,  where  marriages  were  very  early,  and  found 
that  parturition  was  much  more  easy  than  in  Europe.  * 

On  the  other  hand,  certain  facts  show  that  too  young 
mothers  are  subject  to  a  very  heavy  rate  of  mortality  during 
childbirth,  and  soon  after  it.  The  most  salient  fact  in  this 
connection  is  furnished  by  Hassenstein,  who  has  stated  that 
the  mortality  of  labour  cases  in  Abyssinia  is  30  per  cent., 
and  who  has  attributed  this  death-rate  to  the  circumstance 
that  marriage  takes  place  before  the  body  of  the  woman  is 
sufficiently  developed. f  In  British  India  .  the  disadvan- 
tages of  precocious  marriage  have  been  repeatedly  urged ; 
and  in  a  petition  relating  to  this  subject,  Dr.  Mansell  referred 
to  the  case  of  a  woman  of  twelve  years  of  age  in  whom 
parturition  was  interfered  with  by  the  undeveloped  con- 
dition of  the  pelvis,  so  that  the  head  of  the  child  had  to  be 
destroyed. 

Matthews  Duncan,  the  well-known  English  obstetrician, 
paid  much  attention  to  the  mortality  of  labour  cases,  with 
the  object  of  deciding  the  best  age  for  marriage.  He  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  women  from  twenty  to  twenty-four 
years  of  age  were  best  fitted  for  labour,  that  is  to  say,  showed 
the  lowest  rate  of  mortality  during  labour  or  as  a  result  of 
labour.  He  also  showed  that  such  women  were  most  fertile, 

*  Ploss-Bartels,  loc.  cit.  p.  626.  f  H>*d-  P-  626. 


94  THE    NATURE   OF   MAN 

and  that  the  development  of  the  pelvic  bones  was  completed 
at  that  period  of  life.  Women  who  were  of  a  lower  or 
higher  age  showed  a  greater  mortality  rate  in  connection 
with  childbirth. 

The  facts  of  which  I  have  just  given  a  summary  lead 
directly  to  a  most  striking  instance  of  disharmony  exhibited 
in  the  order  of  the  development  of  the  human  reproductive 
apparatus.  Puberty  declares  itself  in  a  woman  by  the 
beginning  of  menstruation  at  a  time  when  girls  still  possess 
infantile  characters  and  when  the  bones  of  the  pelvic  basin 
are  not  yet  fully  developed.  Obviously  there  is  a  dishar- 
mony between  puberty  and  the  general  maturity  of  the  body, 
that  is  to  say,  the  nubile  condition. 

This  disharmony  becomes  still  more  evident  upon  a  closer 
examination  of  the  phases  of  development  of  the  different 
reproductive  functions.  In  the  human  race,  reproduction 
is  brought  about  by  the  union  of  the  sexes  suggested  by 
sympat^  ^r  mutual  love.  The  sexual  union  makes  it 
possible  for  the  male  elements  or  spermatozoa  to  reach  the 
eggs  and  fertilise  them  by  passing  into  them.  It  might 
have  been  expected  that  the  different  steps  in  the  process 
would  have  been  attuned  so  as  to  act  in  harmony.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  there  is  no  such  relation.  The  different 
factors  of  the  sexual  function  develop  independently  and 
unharmoniously . 

Love  and  the  sexual  sense  in  the  human  race  appear 
before  the  other  factors  in  the  process.  Ramdohr,*  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  stated  that  little  boys  frequently  exhibit 
amorousness  towards  women.  They  are  capable  of  being 
strongly  affected  by  jealousy  and  by  desire  of  exclusive 
possession  of  the  coveted  woman.  This  fact  is  well  known, 
and  has  been  related  of  famous  personages.  Thus  Dante, 
*  "  Venus  Urania,"  Leipzig,  1798. 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     95 

at  the  age  of  nine,  fell  in  love  with  Beatrice  ;  Canova  was  in 
love  when  he  was  little  more  than  six  years  of  age,  and  Lord 
Byron  was  in  love  with  Mary  Duff  at  the  age  of  seven.* 

Sexual  excitability  appears  at  an  age  when  there  is  no 
question  but  that  the  sexual  elements  are  undeveloped.  In 
infants  still  in  the  crad  e,  observers  have  noticed  movements 
and  attitudes  showing  the  presence  of  sexual  excitability. 
Curschmann  and  Fiirbringer,t  both  competent  clinicians, 
have  noticed  these  feelings  in  children  under  the  age  of 
five.  Later  on  in  life,  the  development  of  the  sensibility 
is  more  common,  and  is  practically  universal  among  boys 
before  the  time  at  which  the  spermatozoa  are  ripe. 

This  disharmony  is  the  cause  of  onanism,  which  is  common 
everywhere  among  boys.  Before  ordinary  sexual  congress 
is  possible  for  them,  boys  experience  the  characteristic 
pleasure  of  the  sexual  sensations,  and  by  a  kind  of  natural 
instinct  learn  self-gratification.  Onanism  is  sometimes 
defined  as  a  "  gratification  of  the  sexual  desire  by  unnatural 
means."  J  But  it  is  man's  constitution  itself  that  permits 
the  development  of  the  sensation  precociously,  before  the 
development  of  sexual  maturity.  Letourneau  is  right  when 
he  says  that  such  sexual  aberrations  are  abnormal,  but  not 
unnatural,  as  they  occur  among  animals. 

In  the  case  of  young  boys  the  habit  is  so  common  that, 
according  to  Christian, §  "  very  few  are  able  to  say  that 
they  have  avoided  it  completely."  The  same  writer  asks 
the  question  :  "  If  it  be  remembered  that  onanism  among 
certain  peoples,  at  certain  times,  has  been  recognised  as  an 

*  Moll,  "  Untersuch.  iiber  die  Libido  Sexualis,"  vol.  I.,  p.  44. 

f  "  Real-encyclopaedie  der  gesamnrt.  Heilkunde/'  vol.  XIV.,  p.  593. 
Second  Edition,  1888. 

J  Fiirbringer,  loc.  cit. 

§  "  Dictionnaire.  encyclopedique  des  Sciences  medicales,"  vol.  XV., 
p.  378,  1881. 


96  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

ordinary  event,  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  asking  if  there  be 
not  a  latent  vice,  hidden  in  the  depths  of  human  nature,  and 
ready  to  be  provoked  into  activity  by  very  small  causes  ?  " 
The  answer  is  sufficiently  plain.  The  cause  of  onanism, 
this  "  vice  "  or  "  crime,"  as  Tissot  and  other  authors  have 
called  it,  undoubtedly  is  the  result  of  a  natural  disharmony 
in  the  human  constitution,  of  a  premature  development  of 
sexual  sensation.  Among  the  most  civilised  races  and  the 
lowest  savages  the  mode  of  satisfying  the  premature  demand 
is  equally  common. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  onanism  is  more  common  and 
earlier  developed  in  the  male  sex.  The  development  of 
sexual  irritability  in  the  female  occurs  very  irregularly.  In 
some  races  onanism  is  so  much  a  custom  among  little  girls 
that  no  attempt  is  made  to  conceal  the  practice.  This  occurs, 
for  instance,  among  certain  Hottentot  tribes,  and  is  referred 
to  openly  in  talk  and  legends.*  Similar  instances  occur 
elsewhere,  but  in  most  races  the  practice  is  thought  wrong, 
and  is  concealed  as  much  as  possible. 

Among  girls,  f  onanism  is  less  frequent  than  in  the  case 
of  boys,  a  circumstance  in  relation  with  the  fact  that  sexual 
sensation  usually  appears  much  later  in  the  female  sex.  It 
is  almost  a  general  rule  that  girls  who  have  arrived  at  sexual 
maturity  have  not  acquired  sexual  irritability,  while  to 
many  it  comes  only  gradually  after  marriage.  Sometimes 
it  does  not  occur  until  after  the  first  child  has  been  born. 
On  the  other  hand,  love  begins  very  early  in  young  girls, 
although  it  long  retains  a  platonic  character  and  is  not 
associated  with  sexual  sensation  until  much  later. 

*  Fritsch,  "  Die  Eingeborenen  Siid-Afrikas."     Breslau,  1873. 

f  Information  that  I  have  obtained  from  the  Zoological  Gardens 
at  Anvers  would  seem  to  show  the  existence  of  similar  differences 
between  the  sexes  in  the  case  of  monkeys. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     97 

The  maturity  of  the  spermatozoa  in  the  male  comes  long 
after  the  development  of  sexual  irritability  and  of  love. 
None  the  less,  it  comes  before  the  organism  of  the  male 
is  actually  ready.  It  happens,  in  consequence,  especially 
among  the  highly  civilised  peoples,  that  marriage  and 
regular  unions  are  impossible  at  the  right  time.  The  youth 
has  his  education  to  finish,  his  profession  to  choose,  and  he 
must  be  ready  to  support  children  before  he  is  able  to 
marry.  As  civilisation  advances,  the  age  of  marriage 
becomes  later  and  later.  In  the  case  of  Europeans,  sexual 
maturity  occurs  in  the  male  at  the  age  of  twelve  to  fourteen 
years,  while  the  average  age  at  the  first  marriage  is  shown 
in  the  following  table  : — 

Table  of  Age  at  First  Marriage.* 


Nationality. 

Age  in  years  of  males. 

Age  in  years  of  females. 

English 

. 

25.94 

24.69 

French 

» 

28.41 

25.32 

Norwegians  . 

. 

28.51 

26.98 

Dutch  . 

. 

29.15 

27.78 

Belgians 

« 

29.94 

28.19 

These  figures  show  clearly  what  a  gap  there  is  between  the 
coming  of  sexual  maturity  and  the  age  at  which  marriage 
can  be  undertaken. 

The  decay  of  the  reproductive  functions  shows  a  series 
of  disharmonies  similar  to  those  that  occur  during  develop- 
ment. Spermatozoa  continue  to  be  formed  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  the  life  of  a  man,  and  may  still  be  found 
even  in  very  old  men.  Pawloff,  for  instance,  discovered 
that  they  were  present  in  abundance  in  the  case  of  a  man 
at  the  age  of  ninety-four,  and  this  observation  is  not  unique. f 

*  Wappaeus,  "  Allgemeine  Bevolkerungsstatistik,"  vol.11.,  p.  285, 
1861. 

t  "  Sur  les  Alterations  pathologo-anatomiques  des  Testicules 
pendant  la  Vieillesse,"  St.  Petersbourg,  1894  (in  Russian).  A 

G 


98  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

But  the  presence  of  ripe  spermatozoa  is  not  the  only  con- 
dition necessary  for  functional  virility.  In  the  case  of  old 
men  it  happens  frequently  that  there  is  incapacity  to  make 
normal  use  of  the  spermatozoa  that  are  produced.  This 
brings  about  a  series  of  discomforts  in  the  sexual  functions 
of  advanced  life  which,  however,  do  not  prevent  the  reten- 
tion of  the  specific  sensation  and  dc  si  :e  until  a  very  extreme 
old  age.  Doctors,  in  hospitals  devoted  to  old  men,  have 
noticed  to  what  an  extent  their  patients  are  engrossed  by 
sexuality.  Even  some  of  the  ancient  authors  have  noticed 
how  the  amorous  sentiments  of  old  men  turn  into  a  per- 
verted attraction  to  youths. 

Sexual  irritability  and  amorousness  not  only  appear 
before  sexual  maturity  and  general  fitness  of  the  organism 
for  marriage,  but  they  remain  after  the  disappearance  of 
these.  It  is  remarkable  to  notice  how  profound  is  the  differ- 
ence between  the  disharmonies  of  the  reproductive  functions 
in  man  and  the  perfect  condition  of  adaptation  of  the  same 
functions  in  the  higher  plants.  In  the  case  of  the  higher 
plants,  as  I  described  in  my  second  chapter,  the  arrange- 
ments are  complicated  on  account  of  the  necessary  media- 
tion of  insect  life.  Notwithstanding  this,  the  perfection  of 
the  adaptation  is  remarkable.  At  the  exact  time  when  the 
reproductive  products  are  ripe,  the  petals  open  and  the 
nectar  is  secreted,  while,  in  addition,  at  this  time  many 
flowers  discharge  odours  agreeable  to  insects.  Attracted  by 
the  scents  and  colours,  the  insects  visit  the  flowers  in  quest 
of  pollen  or  nectar,  and,  becoming  dusted  with  pollen,  carry 
it  to  the  stigmas  of  the  next  flowers  they  visit.  As  soon  as 

few  years  ago,  in  course  of  the  examination  of  the  body  of  a  man 
who  had  died  at  the  age  of  103  at  Lyons,  the  seminal  vesicles  were 
found  to  be  full  of  ripe  and  Active  spermatozoa.  "  Annales  d'Hygiene 
publique,"  p.  370,  1900. 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     99 

fertilisation  has  taken  place  the  petals  fade,  the  scents  are 
no  longer  produced,  and  the  insects  cease  to  visit  the  flowers 
to  which  they  are  no  longer  necessary. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  disharmonies  in  the  human 
reproductive  apparatus  are  a  frequent  source  of  trouble. 
Little  children,  in  whom  sexual  irritability  has  awakened 
prematurely,  learn  to  satisfy  it  by  means  called  "  unnatural." 
In  many  cases  damage  rapidly  follows.  "  In  the  child," 
wrote  Dr.  Christian,  "  there  is  no  secretion  of  spermatozoa, 
and  it  is  in  the  child  that  the  results  of  onanism  are  most 
disastrous  to  the  organism,  and  disastrous  almost  in  inverse 
proportion  to  the  age.*  It  is  in  early  infancy  that  this  aber- 
ration merits  the  evil  reputation  that  it  has  acquired  ;  it 
compromises  health,  intelligence,  and  even  life.  Quite 
young  children  wither,  becoming  pale,  stupid,  and  fragile, 
when  they  have  acquired  this  disastrous  habit.  The  evil 
is  almost  entirely  a  consequence  of  the  unripeness  of  the 
organism  for  sexuality."  Happily  these  evil  occurrences 
are  rare. 

A  publication  by  Tissot,  a  Swiss  doctor,  on  the  subject  of 
onanism,  made  a  sensation  in  the  eighteenth  century.  The 
book  was  full  of  exaggeration,  and  it  was  very  inexact,  but 
it  contained  interesting  confessions  from  persons  who  had 
contracted  the  habit.  A  woman  wrote  to  Tissot  in  the 
following  terms  :  "  But  for  the  restraint  of  religion,  I  should 
have  put  an  end  to  my  life,  which  is  ruined  by  my  own  fault." 
Not  infrequently  the  vice  leads  to  melancholia. 

Other  unfortunate  results  come  from  the  ripening  of  the 
sexual  products  before  the  organism  is  ready  for  marriage, 
and  before  the  character  has  been  formed.  As  men  cannot 
contract  marriage  before  they  are  ready  for  it,  irregular  and 
frequently  harmful  sexual  aberration  may  occur. 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  377. 


ioo  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

The  survival  of  this  specific  irritability  until  too  late  a 
period  of  life  is  another  source  of  disaster.  Old  men  who 
can  neither  excite  passion  nor  satisfy  it,  often  become 
victims  of  their  own  amorousness  and  unassuaged  passions. 
It  has  been  shown  that  passion  may  survive  after  the  com- 
plete atrophy  of  the  functions  of  the  organs.  Similarly  it 
is  the  case  that  women  from  whom  the  ovaries  have  been 
removed,  may  continue  to  retain  sexual  irritability  com- 
pletely. 

Disharmony  of  sexuality  may  also  occur  between  persons 
of  different  sexes.  The  fact  that  sexuality  is  usually  more 
precocious  in  the  male  sex  often  produces  a  disharmony  in 
the  case  of  married  persons.  At  the  time  when  a  woman 
is  still  in  full  possession  of  this  specific  irritability,  the  appetite 
in  the  man  may  be  on  the  wane.  From  this  disharmony 
there  often  follows  conjugal  infidelity  or  passion  between 
persons  of  the  same  sex. 

Schopenhauer  devoted  attention  to  this  subject  and  wrote 
as  follows  :  "  That  nature  herself  may  produce  a  condition 
totally  opposed  to  the  natural  function  offers  a  paradoxical 
problem  of  very  deep  interest."  *  It  is  clear,  however,  when 
we  consider  the  disharmonies  in  the  development  and  acti- 
vities of  the  functions  in  question,  that  the  apparently 
paradoxical  and  strange  aberrations  of  sexuality  are  natural 
enough. 

The  existing  disharmony  gives  rise  to  many  evils  from 
earliest  youth  to  advanced  age,  and,  consequently,  it  is 
not  surprising  to  find  that  religions  have  denounced  sexu- 
ality more  or  less  severely.  Dr.  Christian  expresses  his 
astonishment  "  that  in  nearly  all  religions  it  has  been 
considered  a  homage  to  the  Deity  to  abstain  from  sexual 

*  "Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  Supplement 
to  chap.  xliv. 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     101 

intercourse."  *  It  is  simply  because  the  disharmonies 
of  sexuality  lead  to  sexual  aberrations  that  religions  have 
found  cause  for  denouncing  human  nature  as  vile.f 

III 

Disharmonies  in  the  family  instincts. — Artificial  abortion. — 
Desertion  and  infanticide. — Disharmonies  in  the  social 
instincts 

As  the  functions  of  reproduction  are  seated  deep  in  the 
organic  world  and  none  the  less  present  cases  of  striking 
disharmony  in  mankind,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  similar 
want  of  adaptation  in  the  family  instincts  of  man,  as  these 
instincts  have  been  acquired  more  recently  and  are  less 
widespread  in  the  living  world. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  animal  world  provides  many 
examples  of  onanism  and  of  aberrations  of  sexual  congress. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  no  cases  in  the  animal  world 
in  which  pregnancy  is  destroyed  by  aberrant  instincts. 

To  the  human  race  belongs  the  distinction  of  having 
invented  modes  of  sexual  congress  which  are  necessarily 
barren.  No  doubt  the  loss  of  the  os  penis  has  made  such 
occurrences  more  easy,  as  the  presence  of  that  bone  would 
render  interruption  of  coition  more  difficult.  But  there  are 
many  ways  in  which  the  spermatozoa  may  be  prevented 
from  accomplishing  their  function,  and  these  are  so  common 
and  so  familiar  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  them. 
In  civilised  countries  procreation  is  limited  chiefly  by  such 
means.  In  its  early  days,  the  human  race  must  have  been 
distinguished  by  its  unusual  procreative  capacity,  but  with 
the  growth  of  civilisation  many  devices  have  been  employed 
to  limit  that. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  364.  t  $ee  chap.  i. 


102  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

Savages  and  races  of  low  civilisation  have  recourse  to 
artificial  abortion  rather  than  to  means  for  preventing 
fertilisation,  and  abortion  is  almost  universal  among  them. 

The  great  treatise  of  Ploss,  "Das  Weib,"  to  which  I 
have  made  repeated  reference,  contains  a  whole  chapter  *  on 
this  subject.  Deliberate  abortion  with  the  object  of  limit- 
ing the  number  of  children  is  customary  all  over  the  globe. 
In  most  primitive  races  and  among  peoples  of  low  civilisa- 
tion it  is  practised  openly  without  the  smallest  restraint. 
Many  of  these  peoples  have  adopted  the  custom  of  limiting 
the  family  to  two  children  by  procuring  abortion  in  sub- 
sequent pregnancies.  The  aborigines  of  Kaisar  and  of  the 
islands  of  Watubela  observe  the  rule  strictly.  Among  the 
natives  of  the  islands  of  Aaru  it  is  rare  to  find  more  than 
three  children  in  a  family,  because  any  others  are  destroyed 
by  artificial  abortion. 

A  similar  custom  is  widespread  in  India,  being  quite  as 
common  among  the  Hindoos  who  are  ruled  by  England  as 
among  independent  races.  In  the  peninsula  of  Kutch, 
women  frequently  procure  abortion,  and  one  woman  boasted 
to  Macmurdo  that  she  had  made  use  of  the  practice  five 
times.  Abortion  is  equally  common  in  Africa  and  America. 

Even  in  Europe  there  are  nations  amongst  which  abor- 
tion is  permitted  within  certain  limits.  The  Turjcs  do  not 
regard  a  foetus  as  being  really  alive  until  after  the  fifth 
month,  and  have  no  scruple  in  causing  its  abortion.  Even 
at  later  stages,  when  the  operation  becomes  criminal,  it  is 
frequently  practised.  In  1872,  at  Constantinople,  more  than 
three  thousand  cases  of  abortion  were  brought  before  the 
Courts  in  a  period  of  ten  months.  Under  such  circum- 
stances it  is  not  surprising  that  illegitimate  children  are 
rare  in  the  East. 

*  Vol.  I.  chap,  xxxv. 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     103 

Artificial  abortion  is  not  a  modern  invention,  but.  was 
common  in  ancient  times.  The  old  Greeks  practised  it 
openly,  without  any  legal  restraint.  Plato  regarded  it  as 
within  the  province  of  the  midwife,  and  Aristotle  permitted 
it  to  married  people  when  a  pregnancy  that  was  not  desired 
took  place. 

Steller,  writing  of  the  natives  of  Kamchatka  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  stated  that  among  them  marriage  was 
contracted  rather  for  sensual  gratification  than  for  the 
procreation  of  children,  because  they  interfered  with  preg- 
nancies by  various  kinds  of  medicaments  and  by  violent 
operative  interferences. 

The  arts  by  which  abortion  has  been  produced  are  numer- 
ous and  varied.  In  addition  to  the  administration  of  drugs, 
chiefly  of  vegetable  origin,  implements  have  been  employed. 
The  natives  of  Greenland  use  the  ribs  of  seals  or  of  the 
walrus,  and  the  Hawaians  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  employ 
for  the  purpose  a  wooden  implement  fashioned  as  a  deity. 

On  the  other  hand,  certain  races  have  strongly  opposed 
the  practice  of  abortion.  In  the  ancient  world  such  races  were 
the  Medes,  the  Bactrians,  the  Persians,  and  Jews.  Among 
the  ancient  Incas,  abortion  was  a  crime  punished  with  death. 
Later  on,  the  Christian  nations  followed  this  view.  However, 
the  reprobation  of  abortion  occurs  only  in  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  even  amongst 
these  the  practice  is  common  in  secret. 

Animals  which  are  unable  to  procure  abortion  very  often 
destroy  their  young,  as  I  described  in  the  second  chapter 
of  this  volume.  In  the  human  race,  infanticide  is  too 
common.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  did  not  regard  the 
newly  born  infants  as  possessing  any  right  to  live.  The 
old  Germans  held  themselves  free  to  expose  their  infants. 
The  Arabs,  before  the  faith  of  Islam  had  spread  to  them, 


io4  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

were  in  the  habit  of  burying  many  female  children  alive. 
In  India  a  similar  custom  is  common,  and  in  China  it  is 
notorious.  According  to  figures  collected  by  Eitel,*  the 
Chinese  of  the  province  of  Canton  very  often  kill  female 
children  immediately  after  birth.  "  It  may  be  said,"  he 
wrote,  "that  the  murder  of  female  infants  is  the  general 
rule  among  the  Hak-lo,  and  especially  among  the  Hak-ka 
of  the  agricultural  classes.  The  Hak-ka  themselves  estimate 
the  number  of  female  children  exposed  as  about  two-thirds 
of  those  born."  In  a  little  village  in  which  the  author 
lived  for  several  years,  an  investigation,  made  with  the  help 
of  some  Christians,  showed  that  without  exception  women 
who  had  given  birth  to  two  children  had  killed  at  least  one 
of  them. 

In  Tahiti  two-thirds  of  new-born  children  are  killed, 
those  of  the  female  sex  making  up  the  greater  part  of  the 
numbers.  The  first  three  infants  and  all  twins  are  killed, 
and  as  a  rule  not  more  than  two  or  at  most  three  are  actually 
reared. f  Among  the  Melanesians  the  custom  of  infanticide 
is  very  common.  "  It  must  also  be  assumed,"  said  Ratzel,J 
"  that  in  Ugi  (Solomon  Islands)  all  the  infants  are  killed,  to 
be  replaced  by  the  Bauros." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  a  widespread  occurrence  of 
artificial  abortion  and  of  infanticide  among  primitive  races 
is  bringing  about  a  rapid  diminution  in  the  numbers  of 
these,  and  may  lead  even  to  their  extinction.  This  is  taking 
place  in  the  case  of  the  natives  of  New  South  Wales,  of 
New  Guinea,  and  of  the  islands  of  Aaru.  Nothing  could 
show  more  plainly  the  feebleness  of  the  human  family  instinct. 

*  "  L'Anthropologie,"   vol.   IV.,  p.    129,  1893. 
f  Waitz-Gerland,    "  Anthropologie   der   Naturvolker,"    vol.    VI,, 
p.  139,  1872. 

I  "  Volkerkunde,"  vol.  I.  p.  274,  1885. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     105 

In  more  highly  civilised  nations,  the  rude  proceedings  of 
savages  have  been  replaced  by  clever  devices  to  prevent 
conception,  and  infanticide  has  become  rare.  Artificial 
abortion  is  excited  by  modern  methods  suggested  by  the 
progress  of  science.  The  embryonic  membranes  are  pierced 
not  by  the  ribs,  of  seals  or  hair-pins,  but  by  sterilised  sounds, 
and  the  operation  is  performed  with  strict  asepsis.  In  avert- 
ing the  natural  results  of  passion  the  woman  is  subjected  to 
the  smallest  possible  risk. 

It  is  indubitable  that  more  than  one  race  has  perished 
because  'of  its  lack  of  the  instinct  of  family.  However,  it 
need  not  be  feared  that  the  human  race  itself  will  disappear 
because  of.  the  failure  of  procreation.  But  it  is  plain  that 
the  readiness  with  which  devices  to  prevent  the  production  of 
children  have  been  adopted  shows  the  weakness  of  the  family 
instinct  in  man,  and  opens  up  a  problem  to  which  the  atten- 
tion of  moralists  and  legislators  may  well  be  directed. 

The  family  instinct  is  deeply  seated,  as  it  arose  among 
animals  more  ancient  than  man  ;  none  the  less  it  exhibits 
disturbances  and  aberrations  in  the  human  race  capable  of 
bringing  about  the  extinction  of  peoples  or  nations.  It  is, 
however,  strong  enough  to  secure  that  man  will  persist  in 
the  future. 

Man  certainly  is  a  social  animal,  but  the  instinct  impelling 
him  towards  union  with  his  fellows  is  of  recent  origin.  Such 
animal  societies  as  are  to  be  found  among  insects  are  not 
comparable  with  human  associations.  Among  mammals,  the 
nearest  allies  of  man,  the  social  instincts  are  developed  only 
to  a  slight  extent,  and  even  the  anthropoid  apes  show  very 
little  progress  in  this  direction.  Many  of  these  creatures 
have  shown  in  captivity  the  aptitude  to  become  friendly 
with  man  or  with  other  animals,  and  thus  have  displayed 
the  beginnings  of  the  capacity  to  form  societies.  But,  in 


106  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

the  wild  condition,  anthropoids  live  only  in  families,  and 
these  contain  few  individuals.  As  regards  the  social  capa- 
cities of  the  chimpanzee  Dr.  Savage  wrote  :  *  "  They  cannot 
be  called  gregarious,  seldom  more  than  five,  or  ten  at  most, 
being  found  together.  It  has  been  said  on  good  authority 
that  they  occasionally  assemble  in  large  numbers  in  gambols. 
My  informant  asserts  that  he  saw  once  not  less  than  fifty 
so  engaged  ;  hooting,  screaming,  and  drumming  with  sticks 
on  old  logs,  which  is  done  in  the  latter  case  with  equal 
facility  by  the  four  extremities." 

We  have  little  acquaintance  with  the  social  life  of  the 
anthropoids,  but,  so  far  as  we  know,  these  creatures  present 
only  the  merest  beginnings  of  the  social  instinct.  Man  has 
moved  much  beyond  them  in  that  direction.  Even  the 
lowest  races  and  the  most  primitive  of  living  peoples  such 
as,  for  instance,  the  Bushmen  or  the  aborigines  of  Australia, 
display  a  well-developed  social  instinct. f 

The  universal  presence  of  the  social  instinct  among  human 
beings  would  seem  to  afford  the  basis  of  a  happy  life.  In 
the  numerous  attempts  made  to  find  a  purely  rational 
principle  that  may  serve  as  the  basis  for  morality  without 
the  intervention  of  supernatural  sanction,  abundant  use  has 
been  made  of  man's  craving  to  live  in  association  with  his 
fellows.  Those  who  have  tried  to  deduce  moral  law  from 
the  essential  constitution  of  man  have  relied  largely  upon 
the  innate  sympathy  between  man  and  his  fellows.  Such 
a  line  of  argument  is  so  common  and  has  been  employed  so 
frequently  that  I  need  not  spend  much  space  in  developing 
it.  I  shall  limit  myself  to  a  few  examples. 

Towards  the  end  of  last  century  Biichner,J  a  German 

*  Huxley,    "  Man's  Place  in  Nature,"  p.  60. 

f  Sutherland,  "  Origin  and  Development  of  the  Moral  Instinct." 

+  Buchner,  "  Force  and  Matter." 


DISHARMONIES   OF    REPRODUCTION     107 

physician,  published  a  materialistic  code  of  morality  that, 
made  a  considerable  sensation.  He  wrote  as  follows  on  the 
question  now  before  us  :  "  What  we  term  the  moral  sense 
arose  from  the  social  instincts  and  habits  which,  under  pain  of 
extinction,  are  developed  in  every  society  of  men  and  animals. 
Morality  depends  on  sociability,  and  varies  with  the 
peculiar  conditions  of  each  particular  association.  As  man 
is  essentially  a  social  animal,  and  to  be  regarded,  apart  from 
society,  merely  as  a  wild  beast,  it  is  plain  that  the  needs  of 
the  community  must  impose  on  him  certain  restrictions  and 
directions  that  in  time  will  pass  into  a  settled  code  of  morals." 

Half  a  century  later  practically  the  same  idea  was 
repeated.  Haeckel,*  the  well-known  German  naturalist, 
expressed  it  as  follows  in  a  volume  that  appeared  a  few 
years  ago  : — 

"  Modern  science  shows  that  the  feeling  of  duty  does  not 
rest  on  an  illusory  '  categorical  imperative,'  but  on  the  solid 
ground  of  social  instinct,  as  we  find  it  in  the  case  of  all  the 
social  animals.  It  regards  as  the  highest  aim  of  all  morality 
the  re-establishment  of  a  sound  harmony  between  egoism 
and  altruism,  between  self-love  and  the  love  of  one's  neigh- 
bour. ...  If  a  man  desire  to  have  the  advantage  of  living 
in  an  organised  community  he  has  to  consult  not  only  his 
own  fortune  but  also  that  of  the  society  and  of  the  '  neigh- 
bours '  who  form  the  society.  He  must  realise  that  its 
prosperity  is  his  own  prosperity,  and  that  it  cannot  suffer 
without  his  own  injury.  This  fundamental  law  of  society 
is  so  simple  and  so  inevitable  that  one  cannot  understand 
how  it  can  be  contradicted  in  theory  or  in  practice  ;  and 
yet  that  is  done  to-day  and  has  been  done  for  thousands 
of  years." 

*  Haeckel,  "  The  Riddle  of  the  Universe,"  pp.  357-358,  Second 
Edition,  1901. 


io8  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

The  sexual  and  family  instincts  may  be  satisfied  in  many 
different  ways,  and  this  is  also  the  case  with  the  social 
instincts.  Onanism  and  perverted  passion  may  satisfy  the 
sexual  instinct  ;  celibacy,  artificial  abortion  and  infanticide 
exist  alongside  the  love  of  the  wife  and  the  parental  cares. 
So  also  the  social  instinct  of  a  criminal  may  be  satisfied  by 
his  association  with  other  criminals.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  most  hardened  criminals  have  their  own  codes,  and 
they  join  faithfulness  to  their  own  companions  to  an 
atrocious  attitude  towards  the  rest  of  the  world. 

It  is  not  enough  then  merely  to  give  scope  to  the  social 
instincts  that  we  all  possess.  We  have  to  determine  how 
far,  and  towards  which  of  our  fellow  creatures,  we  are  to 
exercise  such  instincts,  and  it  is  here  that  the  difficulty  arises 
which  as  yet  has  not  been  resolved  by  religion  or  rationalism. 
Must  our  social  instincts  reach  to  our  relatives  near  or 
distant,  or  to  our  fellow  townsmen,  or  compatriots,  or  to  all 
white  men,  or  to  all  men,  white  and  black,  or  to  the  good 
only,  or  to  the  good  and  bad  alike  ?  Perhaps  we  should 
limit  the  operation  of  the  instinct  to  those  of  our  own 
religion,  or  who  share  our  views  of  life  ?  The  instinctive 
feeling  is  quite  silent  on  these  points,  and  it  is  precisely  on 
them  that  the  difficulties  arise.  It  is  well  known  that  at 
different  epochs  and  in  different  circumstances  very  different 
answers  have  been  given  to  such  questions.  When  religion 
was  predominant,  a  common  faith  was  a  bond  transcending 
patriotism.  Later  on,  patriotism  itself  became  the  dominant 
bond.  In  recent  days,  a  conception  of  international  solidarity 
began  to  appear.  Thus,  for  instance,  there  was  recently  a 
combination  of  different  nations  against  China,  and  nation- 
ality was  forgotten.  Some  of  the  European  nations  banded 
themselves  together  and  even  assumed  an  Asiatic  race  in 
the  union,  with  the  object  of  punishing  a  common  enemy. 


DISHARMONIES   OF   REPRODUCTION     109 

What  was  the  bond  that  united  nations  so  different  ?  It 
was  not  religion,  for  the  bond  included  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants, orthodox  Christians  and  Buddhists.  Most  pro- 
bably the  bond  of  union  was  a  community  of  interest,  the 
result  of  similar  civilisation  and  military  and  political 
organisation. 

It  has  been  suggested  occasionally  that  the  social  instinct, 
or  human  sympathy,  for  the  terms  are  practically  identical, 
may  stretch  further  and  further  and  become  so  widespread 
that  all  the  members  of  the  human  stock  will  unite  and 
act  only  for  the  common  good.  But  the  problem  is  complex. 
Sympathy,  when  pushed  too  far,  may  become  harmful. 
Nations  have  taken  part  in  a  campaign,  impelled  by  some 
feeling  of  sympathy,  and  have  brought  harm  on  themselves. 
Sympathy  extended  to  criminals  and  wicked  persons  is 
equally  harmful.  The  social  instinct  itself  must  be  regu- 
lated for  the  good  of  the  community  which  it  holds 
together. 

Ought  we  to  extend  our  sympathy  to  all  humanity,  or  to 
limit  it  to  some  particular  section  ?  Theorists  have  spoken 
of  the  solidarity  of  all  humanity,  believing  it  possible  to 
extend  our  sympathy  to  the  races  furthest  removed  from 
us.  In  countries  in  which  different  races  are  brought  in 
contact,  very  practical  difficulties  are  encountered  by  the 
theorists.  In  America  and  in  some  other  countries,  for 
instance,  laws  have  been  passed  against  the  Chinese,  exclud- 
ing the  latter  from  the  consideration  granted  to  other  races. 
The  negro  question  also  is  very  difficult  in  those  countries 
in  which  the  black  race  dwells  amongst  whites.  In  Europe 
it  has  been  the  custom  to  condemn  the  action  of  civilised 
races  in  taking  their  land  from  natives  of  primitive  type. 
Sutherland,  the  author  of  a  striking  work  on  the  origin  and 
development  of  morality,  justifies  such  arbitrary  conduct. 


no  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

To  the  question,  "Was  it  right  for  thewnites  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  Australian  forests  of  the  blacks  ?  "  he  replied 
in  the  affirmative.  "  No  doubt,"  he  said,  "  there  is  a  moral 
instinct  against  it,  but  the  action  undoubtedly  was  right."  * 
In  a  summary  of  his  conclusions  he  lays  down  that  moral 
conduct  is  a  compromise  between  the  individual  and  social 
instincts  that  so  often  are  opposed.  But  he  has  no  more 
to  say  than  his  predecessors  as  to  the  rational  basis  of  the 
compromise. 

The  social  instinct  has  been  acquired  by  mankind  too 
recently,  and  it  is  still  too  feeble,  to  be  a  trustworthy  guide 
in  all  conduct.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  at  many  different 
times,  divine  sanction  has  been  evoked  to  control  the  rela- 
tions among  men.  The  categorical  law  has  been  formulated 
with  the  same  object.  Thus  by  one  means  or  another,  some 
kind  of  social  order  has  been  kept  up.  The  efficacy  of  these 
additional  guides  is  seen  clearly  on  those  rare  occasions  when 
some  special  combination  of  circumstances  has  set  people  free 
from  them.  Thus  at  Moscow,  in  1812,  before  the  arrival 
of  the  French  army  restored  authority,  and  lately,  after 
the  eruption  in  Martinique,  the  ordinary  authority  lapsed, 
the  anti-social  instincts  of  the  people  were  loose,  and  a  clear 
idea  was  given  of  the  inherent  weakness  of  the  human  social 
instinct. 

I  have  shown  that  in  man  the  instinct  for  choosing  food 
and  the  sexual  and  social  instincts  are  still  so  weak  that  it  is 
impossible  to  trust  to  them  in  the  absence  of  other  guidance. 
It  is  as  equally  necessary  to  determine  what  kind  of  food 
is  most  suitable  for  men  in  different  conditions  of  life,  and 
what  means  are  best  fitted  to  satisfy  rationally  his  sexual 
and  family  instincts.  So  also  it  is  urgent  to  determine 
exactly  the  direction  and  object  of  the  social  instinct.  For 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  796. 


DISHARMONIES    OF    REPRODUCTION     in 

the  love  of  our  fellow  creatures  we  should  seek  the  best 
ways  of  making  them  happy. 

But  what  is  happiness  ?  Is  it  the  feeling  of  well-being 
experienced  by  the  individual  himself,  or  is  it  the  judgment 
of  others  on  his  sensations  ?  It  is  notoriously  difficult  to 
pronounce  on  the  happiness  of  another.  From  the  outside, 
when  a  man  seems  to  enjoy  health,  to  have  a  family  and 
comfortable  means  of  subsistence,  we  are  inclined  to  call  him 
happy  ;  but  the  individual  himself  may  have  a  very  dif- 
ferent opinion  about  himself.  It  is  often  impossible  to  rely 
on  the  judgment  of  others.  On  the  other  hand,  the  opinion 
of  an  individual  himself  on  his  own  condition  may  be  equally 
fallacious.  Very  often  the  feeling  of  well-being  is  a  symptom 
of  general  paralysis,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  follow- 
ing quotation  :  "  The  patient  is  well  pleased  with  himself, 
and  delighted  with  his  constitution  and  circumstances.  He 
boasts  without  ceasing  of  his  robust  health,  his  muscular 
strength,  the  clearness  of  his  complexion  and  of  his  general 
'  fitness.'  His  clothing  is  magnificent  and  his  residence 
palatial.  In  a  more  advanced  stage  of  the  disease,  the 
exaggeration  becomes  extreme.  He  believes  that  he  is  able 
to  blow  down  the  walls  with  his  breath,  or  that  he  could 
carry  a  ton,  or  drink  a  hogshead  of  wine,  or  that  nothing 
could  tire  him  out.  Then  megalomania  begins,  and  the 
patients  believe  themselves  in  possession  of  titles,  of  power, 
and  wealth.  They  are  members  of  parliament,  noblemen, 
princes,  generals,  kings,  emperors,  and  popes,  or  God 
Himself."  * 

As  general  paralysis  is  a  result  of  syphilis,  in  order  to 
make  a  large  number  of  persons  believe  themselves  thoroughly 

*  Ballet  and  Blocq,  "  Paralysie  generate  progressive,"  in  "  Traite 
de  Medicine,"  published  under  the  direction  of  Charcot,  Bouchard, 
and  Brissaud,  vol.  VI.,  p.  1032,  1894. 


ii2  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

happy,  it  would  be  necessary  only  to  spread  this  disease. 
Without  lingering  on  this  paradox,  I  may  at  least  point 
out  that  the  problem  of  happiness,  which  is  associated 
intimately  with  social  life,  is  extremely  difficult. 

The  social  instinct  is  equally  powerless  to  solve  the 
problem  of  justice  in  its  relation  to  the  general  interest  of 
humanity.  It  is  plain  enough  that,  in  the  existing  con- 
dition of  human  knowledge,  we  all  inflict  and  undergo 
injustices  of  different  degrees.  This  misfortune  is  a  conser 
quence  of  the  disharmony  of  human  nature. 

From  what  I  have  already  said,  it  must  be  clear  that 
before  we  can  find  a  rational  guide  to  direct  us  in  the  opera- 
tion of  our  social  instinct,  we  should  have  to  determine 
exactly  the  nature  of  true  happiness  for  the  individual  and 
of  true  justice.  Then  only  should  we  be  in  a  position  to 
set  about  making  human  life  as  happy  as  is  possible. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DISHARMONIES   IN   THE   INSTINCT  OF   SELF- 
PRESERVATION 

The  instinct  of  serf-preservation  in  animals — Man's  in 
stinctive  love  of  life — Indifference  to  life  during  childhood 
— Bhuddist  legend  on  instinctive  self-preservation  and 
the  fear  of  death — Fear  of  death  treated  in  literature — 
Confessions  of  Tolstoi  regarding  the  fear  of  death — Other 
opinions  on  the  subject — The  fear  of  death  an  instinctive 
phenomenon — Development  in  man  of  a  love  of  life — Treat- 
ment of  the  aged — Murder  of  old  people — Suicide  of  old 
men — Absence  of  harmony  between  the  love  of  life  and  the 
conditions  of  human  existence — The  part  played  by  the  fear 
of  death  in  religions  and  systems  of  philosophy 

IT  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  man's  social  instinct  exhibits 
so  many  imperfections  and  disharmonies,  seeing  that  it  is 
still  in  an  unsettled  condition,  and  is  a  recent  acquisition. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  should  expect  to  find  that  love  of 
life  and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  had  reached  a  high 
degree  of  harmony,  since  these  have  been  in  process  of 
development  throughout  the  whole  animal  series  that 
culminated  in  man.  Even  in  the  lowest  forms  of  life  many 
contrivances  exist  for  purposes  of  protection.  Creatures, 
the  bodies  of  which  are  merely  microscopic  drops  of  proto- 
plasm, the  living  material,  may  be  protected  by  shells  from 
external  influences  which  threaten  their  destruction.  Plants 
protect  themselves,  sometimes  by  means  of  thorns  which 
prevent  them  from  being  eaten,  sometimes  by  secretions 

H 


1 14  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

either  merely  irritant  in  character  or  actually  poisonous. 
Among  animals  the  means  employed  for  self-preservation 
are  even  more  numerous.  Shields  and  shells,  the  secretion 
of  fluids  exhaling  unpleasant  odours,  or  facilitating  escape  by 
clouding  the  water,  as  in  the  case  of  the  ink  of  the  cuttlefish, 
offensive  weapons,  strong  teeth,  and  many  other  characters, 
serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  protect  the  individual  life.  The 
exposition  of  this  subject  would  involve  writing  a  complete 
treatise  on  the  comparative  anatomy  of  plants  and  animals. 

Among  lower  animals  the  preservation  of  life  is  accom- 
plished without  mental  connivance,  conscious  or  uncon- 
scious. Soon,  however,  protective  instincts  begin  to  appear. 
Simple  cases  of  these  are  flight  at  the  approach  of  danger, 
protection  by  a  covering  of  slimy  froth  secreted  by  the 
creatures  themselves,  or  built  up  from  this  excreta,  or 
from  foreign  matter.  Such  facts  show  that  the  love  of  life 
and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  are  almost  universal 
in  the  living  world. 

All  these  devices  for  the  avoidance  of  danger  and  escape 
from  death  could  have  been  developed  in  animals  before 
these  had  any  distinct  idea  as  to  what  death  was.  We 
know  that  some  animals  can  distinguish  between  living  and 
dead  prey.  Some  carnivora  recognise  the  smell  of  dead 
bodies.  Those  which  are  accustomed  to  feed  on  living 
creatures  refuse  all  others,  detecting  the  difference  by  the 
absence  of  movement.  As  in  such  cases  the  idea  of  death 
is  imperfect,  it  is  easy  to  deceive  the  creatures  by  offering 
carcases  artificially  set  in  motion,  or  living  prey  rendered 
motionless  by  some  means  or  other.  In  order  to  escape 
from  enemies  so  readily  imposed  upon,  many  insects  when 
alarmed  become  motionless  and  feign  death ;  and  that  may 
be  regarded  as  yet  another  instance  in  Ihe  category  of 
natural  means  for  the  protection  of  individual  life. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION    115 

Moreover,  the  higher  animals,  such  as  mammals,  exhibit 
a  profound  ignorance  of  death,  many  of  them  remaining 
completely  undisturbed  in  the  presence  of  dead  companions, 
or  even  devouring  the  latter  at  the  risk  of  contracting  a 
fatal  disease.  Rats,  for  instance,  eat  the  bodies  of  rats 
which  have  died  of  plague,  and  while  appeasing  their  hunger 
themselves  contract  the  disease  which  they  transmit  to 
other  animals,  particularly  to  human  beings.  Unlike  those 
animals,  however,  which  are  indifferent  to  the  death  of 
their  kind,  there  are  others  that  instinctively  shrink  at  see- 
ing the  dead  bodies  of  their  own  species.  Horses  on  passing 
a  dead  horse  show  signs  of  discomfort,  and  attempt  to 
run  away.  Bullocks  when  witnessing  the  slaughter  of 
others  also  exhibit  evidences  of  distress  and  fear.  In  spite 
of  these  examples,  however,  it  is  quite  certain  that  animals, 
even  those  highest  in  the  scale  of  life,  are  unconscious  of 
the  inevitability  of  death,  and  of  the  ultimate  fate  of  all 
living  things.  This  knowledge  is  a  human  acquisition. 

In  man,  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  is  well  developed. 
Hardly  appreciable  during  infancy,  it  manifests  itself  in  a 
marked  degree  in  young  children.  At  the  sight  of  a  human 
corpse,  children  become  panic-stricken,  as  though  confronted 
by  a  wild  beast  or  snake. 

In  young  adults  this  instinct  of  self-preservation,  which 
is  closely  connected  with  an  instinctive  fear  of  death,  is 
not  fully  developed.  It  often  takes  some  special  cir- 
cumstance to  awaken  it,  such  as  a  dangerous  illness,  an 
accident,  or  the  perils  of  war.  Young  people  who  while  in 
good  health  believe  their  lives  to  be  in  danger,  often  take  it 
to  heart  so  as  to  make  themselves  really  ill.  Relating  his 
impressions  during  the  siege  of  Sebastopool,  Tolstoi,  who 
at  that  time  was  only  twenty-six  years  of  age,  writes  as 
follows :  "  Notwithstanding  the  distractions  offered  by 


n6  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

various  and  urgent  duties,  the  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
and  the  longing  to  quit  this  horrible  place  of  death  was 
present  in  the  hearts  of  all.  This  desire  was  equally  strong 
in  all ;  in  those  mortally  wounded,  and  in  the  volunteer 
rushing  with  all  his  might  into  the  centre  of  the  fray  to 
open  a  path  for  the  horse  of  the  general,  in  the  general 
himself  as  he  directed  and  controlled  his  men.  The  officer 
of  marines,  in  the  middle  of  a  battalion  in  action,  crushed 
so  that  he  could  hardly  breathe,  felt  it  equally  with 
the  wounded  man  carried  on  a  stretcher  by  four  soldiers 
until,  further  progress  being  impossible,  he  had  been  set 
down  just  under  the  Nicolai  battery,  or  the  artilleryman 
who  had  served  his  gun  for  sixteen  years."  In  the  normal 
course  of  life,  however,  the  young  do  not  show  an  instinc- 
tive clinging  to  life  in  any  marked  degree.  They  often  risk 
their  lives  for  trifling  reasons,  and  commit  all  sorts  of  indis- 
cretions hurtful  to  life  or  health  without  a  thought  of  the 
consequences.  They  may  be  inspired  by  the  highest 
motives,  but  they  are  equally  ready  to  fritter  strength  away 
in  the  gratification  of  the  lowest  appetites.  Youth  is  the 
age  of  disinterested  sacrifice,  but  also  of  indulgence  in  all 
kinds  of  excesses,  alcoholic,  sexual  and  others.  Youths  seem 
to  think  that  they  will  always  attach  the  same  value  to 
life,  and  that  between  death  at  thirty  years  of  age  and 
death  at  sixty,  there  is  a  difference  only  of  time.  As  their 
love  of  life  is  indifferently  developed,  young  people  are  often 
extremely  exacting,  the  pleasure  they  enjoy  being  but 
moderate,  whilst  the  suffering  provoked  in  them  by  the 
slightest  annoyance  is  intense.  They  consequently  become 
epicureans  in  the  lowest  sense  of  the  word,  or  else  abandon 
themselves  to  exaggerated  pessimism. 

"  Edite,  bibite,  post    mortem  nulla  voluptas  "  was  the 
motto  of  German  students,  greedy  for  pleasure,  and  unknow- 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  117 

ing  that  a  love  of  life  develops  with  age  in  every  human 
being.  On  the  other  hand,  in  order  to  keep  the  balance 
between  joy  and  sorrow,  youth,  true  to  its  instincts,  under- 
values the  former  and  exaggerates  the  latter,  thus  arriving 
at  a  pessimistic  view  of  life,  and  declaring  that  existence 
is  a  misfortune  in  itself.  It  is  significant  that  Schopenhauer 
published  his  theory  of  pessimism  at  the  age  of  thirty-one. 
His  successor,  R.  Hartmann,  when  twenty-six  years  old,  pro- 
claimed that  human  existence  is  an  evil  which  one  should 
get  rid  of  at  all  costs.  Optimistic  theories,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  been  set  forth  either  by  persons  advanced  in 
years  or  by  persons  whom  special  circumstances  have  caused 
to  appreciate  the  joy  of  living.  As  a  counterbalance  to  the 
pessimism  of  German  philosophers,  Duhring  formulated  a 
theory  of  optimism  in  his  book  "  Der  Werk  des  Lebens,"  but 
was  himself  blind  at  the  time.  Sir  John  Lubbock  published 
some  years  ago  a  book  entitled  "  The  Pleasures  of  Life," 
which  opens  with  the  following  sentence  :  "  Life  is  a  great 
gift."  His  attitude  towards  life  is  entirely  opposed  to  that 
of  the  pessimists,  but  then  he  formulated  it  at  the  age  of 
fifty-three. 

It  has  long  been  recognised  that  the  old  attach  a  higher 
value  to  life  than  do  the  young.  J .  J .  Rousseau,  for  instance, 
says  :  "  Life  becomes  dearer  to  us  as  its  joys  pass  away. 
The  old  cling  to  it  more  closely  than  the  young."  * 

This  reflection  is  absolutely  correct,  and  is  proved  by  a 
number  of  facts.  I  once  knew  very  intimately  a  scientific 
man  who  had  passed  a  very  unhappy  youth.  Being  hyper- 
sensitive to  pain,  he  tried  to  assuage  it  by  every  means  in 
his  power.  Some  trifling  annoyance  sufficing  to  throw  him 
into  a  state  of  utter  prostration,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 

*  Emile,  "CEuvres  completes  de  J.  J.  Rousseau,"  vol.  II.,  p.  432, 
1876. 


n8  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

resorting  to  the  aid  of  narcotics.  In  order  to  escape  from 
mental  anguish  he  inoculated  himself  with  poisons.  By 
the  time  he  had  arrived  at  an  advanced  age  his  hyper- 
sensitiveness  gave  place  to  feelings  much  less  acute.  He 
ceased  to  resent  the  ills  of  life  so  bitterly  as  he  did  in  his 
youth ;  while  he  came  to  appreciate  better  the  positive  side 
of  life,  and  even  in  moments  of  unhappiness  he  did  not 
contemplate  putting  an  end  to  his  existence. 

In  youth  he  was  pessimistic,  and  insisted  upon  the  pre- 
ponderance of  evil  over  good.  As  he  became  older,  his 
attitude  towards  existence  became  entirely  modified. 

I  do  not  say,  however,  that  it  is  necessary  to  be  old  in 
order  to  realise  the  misfortune  of  death.  "  He  who  pre- 
tends to  face  death  without  fear  is  a  liar,"  said  J .  J .  Rousseau. 
"  That  all  men  fear  to  die  is  the  great  law  dominating  the 
thinking  world,  and  without  which  all  living  things  would 
soon  cease  to  exist.  This  fear  is  a  natural  impulse,  and  is 
not  merely  an  accident  but  an  important  factor  in  the  whole 
order  of  things."  * 

One  often  hears  people  express  their  indifference  to  death, 
but  an  examination  into  their  real  feelings  on  the  subject 
soon  shows  the  true  state  of  affairs.  I  once  happened  to  be 
present  when  a  lady,  already  well  advanced  in  years,  ex- 
pressed a  wish  for  death,  and  said  that  she  had  no  fear  of 
it  whatever.  On  acquiring  a  fuller  knowledge  of  her  case, 
I  recognised  that  she  was  seriously  ill,  and  that  she  regarded 
death  as  the  only  possible  termination  to  her  sufferings. 
As  soon  as  she  found  that  recovery  was  possible,  she  mani- 
fested intense  delight  at  the  prospect  of  a  prolonged  life 
freed  from  incessant  pain. 

Instinctive  love  of  life,  and  fear  of  death,  which  is  only 
a  manifestation  of  the  former,  are  of  an  importance  in  the 
*  Loc.  cit  p.  76. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  119 

study  of  human  nature  impossible  to  over-estimate  ;  it  is 
therefore  necessary  to  consider  a  few  instances  throwing 
light  upon  the  subject.  Even  the  ancients  were  interested 
in  the  problem.  The  subject  is  perhaps  as  well  dealt 
with  in  a  Buddhist  legend  as  anywhere.*  "  The  young 
Prince  9akya-Mouni,  the  founder  of  the  Bhuddhist  faith, 
being  desirous  of  discovering  the  true  meaning  of  life, 
expressed  a  wish  to  leave  the  world  and  devote  himself  to 
a  religious  life.  In  order  to  turn  him  from  his  purpose,  his 
father  built  him  a  magnificent  palace,  wherein  he  could 
indulge  in  every  sort  of  pleasure,  and  in  which  he  would  be 
protected  from  all  sorrow.  Under  this  system  he  never  saw 
old  people,  nor  those  who  were  diseased,  nor  the  dead.  In 
spite  of  being  thus  strictly  guarded,  the  young  prince  often 
contrived  to  escape  into  the  outer  world  in  order  to  drive 
about.  During  his  first  drive,  he  met  a  broken-down, 
decrepid  old  man,  with  varicose  veins,  decayed  teeth,  a 
wrinkled  skin,  and  grey  hair,  bent  double  with  age  like 
the  roof  of  a  house,  leaning  upon  a  stick  ;  all  traces  of  youth 
had  departed  from  him,  only  inarticulate  words  came  from 
his  throat,  his  procumbent  body  resting  on  the  stick, 
and  his  limbs  and  every  part  of  them  trembling."  Having 
learnt  from  his  coachman  that  this  was  an  old  man,  and 
that  "  in  all  living  creatures  age  creeps  upon  youth,"  that 
every  one  came  to  it  and  that  "  there  was  no  way  out  of 
it,"  the  prince  was  so  deeply  impressed  that  he  said  to  his 
coachman,  "  What  a  misfortune  to  be  a  weak  foolish  person, 
whose  intelligence,  blinded  by  the  pride  of  youth,  sees  nothing 
of  old  age.  Turn  round  my  chariot.  I  would  return.  What 
are  games  and  pleasures  to  me  whose  body  is  the  future 
dwelling-place  of  old  age  ?  "  Another  time  £akya-Mouni 
met  on  the  road  a  man  consumed  by  fever,  his  body  weakened, 
*  The  "  Lalita  Vistara,"  pp.  166-170. 


120  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

his  breathing  difficult.  Informed  by  his  coachman  that  the 
man  was  suffering  from  disease,  the  young  prince  exclaimed  ; 
"  Health,  then,  is  a  mere  dream,  and  the  fear  of  disease 
takes  a  terrible  form.  What  wise  man,  having  seen  such 
a  phase  of  human  existence,  could  continue  to  be  gay  and 
happy  ?  "  Shortly  after  £akya-Mouni  went  out  for  the 
third  time,  and  "  saw  a  dead  man  placed  on  a  bier  covered 
by  a  pall,  surrounded  by  his  relations,  all  weeping,  lament- 
ing, wailing,  their  hair  disordered,  placing  dust  upon 
their  heads,  and  beating  their  breasts."  The  violent  emo- 
tion produced  by  the  sight  of  the  dead  man  caused  the 
prince  to  say  to  himself :  "  Woe  to  youth  threatened  with 
old  age  !  WToe  to  health,  the  prey  of  every  kind  of  disease  ! 
Woe  to  the  life  of  man  which  lasts  but  a  little  while  !  Woe 
to  the  attractions  of  pleasure  which  seduce  the  hearts  of 
the  wise."  These  reflections  of  £akya-Mouni  are  the  basis 
upon  which  Bhuddism  is  founded,  and  that  religious  philo- 
sophy is  impregnated  with  pessimistic  doctrines  relating  to 
human  life. 

Modern  pessimists  hold  views  resembling  Bhuddhism. 
Schopenhauer  from  early  youth  was  engrossed  by  the  great 
problems  of  human  life.  His  mother,  in  a  letter  to  him* 
reproached  him  with  "  grumbling  at  the  inevitable,"  which 
shows  that  at  twenty-seven  years  of  age  he  had  revolted 
against  the  idea  of  death.  The  problem  of  mortality  was 
one  of  those  in  which  he  was  most  deeply  interested,  and 
his  fear  of  disease  and  death  was  such  that  he  left  Berlin  at 
the  first  outbreak  of  cholera  in  1831  (influenced  by  the  death 
of  Hegel,  who  succumbed  to  the  disease),  and  went  to  live  at 
Frankfort,  a  town  un visited  by  the  epidemic.  He  affirms  t 

*  Edouard  Rod,  "Les  idees  morales  du  temps  present,"  p.  48, 
Paris,  1892. 

t  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  529. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION     121 

that  "the  greatest,  and  generally  speaking  the  worst,  misfor- 
tune that  can  befall  any  one  is  to  die,  and  there  is  no  fear 
equal  to  the  fear  of  death."  It  was  the  impossibility  of  escape 
that  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  a  pessimistic  philosophy. 

The  literatures  as  well  as  the  philosophies  of  all  periods 
have  dealt  with  the  problem  of  death.  Edmond  de  Gon- 
court  tells  in  his  "  Journal  "  how,  in  conversation  with  his 
friends,  this  question  was  always  recurring.  The  following 
is  an  account  of  one  of  these  conversations  :  *  "  Our  old 
established  dinner  of  five  took  place  to-day.  Flaubert  was 
missing,  so  there  were  only  Tourgueneff,  Zola,  Daudet,  and 
me.  The  ethical  ennui  of  some  of  us,  the  physical  sufferings 
of  the  others,  led  the  conversation  to  death,  which  we  dis- 
cussed until  eleven  o'clock,  sometimes  passing  to  other 
subjects,  but  always  coming  back  to  the  gloomy  topic. 
Daudet  declared  that  in  his  case  it  was  an  obsession,  a 
Poisoning  of  his  life,  and  that  he  never  moved  into  a  new 
house  without  looking  round  for  the  place  where  his  coffin 
would  come  to  lie.  Zola  told  us  that  his  mother  had  died 
at  Medan,  and  that,  as  the  staircase  proved  too  narrow, 
the  coffin  had  had  to  be  lowered  from  a  window  ;  he  declared 
that  he  never  looked  at  that  window  without  wondering  who 
would  be  taken  out  that  way  next,  he  or  his  wife.  "  Yes," 
he  said,  "  ever  since  that  day  death  has  always  been  in  the 
background  of  our  thoughts,  and  very  often  during  the 
night,  looking  at  my  sleepless  wife,  I  feel  that  like  me  she  is 
thinking  of  it,  and  we  lie  quietly  without  saying  aloud 
what  is  in  our  minds — for  shame,  yes,  for  very  shame — 
Oh  !  it  is  terrible,  that  thought — and  the  terror  of  it  becomes 
visible  !  There  have  been  nights  when  I  have  leapt  suddenly 
out  of  bed,  and  held  myself  for  a  second  or  two  in  a  state 
of  abject  terror." 

*  "Journal  de  Goncourt,"  vol.  VI.,  p.  186,  1878-1884,  1892. 


122  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

Jean  Finot  *  was  told  in  confidence  by  E.  de  Goncourt 
that  if  he  could  banish  the  thought  of  death  from  his  mind 
life  would  be  relieved  of  an  almost  intolerable  burden.  Jean 
Finot  also  relates  that  in  the  course  of  a  memorable  evening 
spent  with  Victor  Hugo  at  the  house  of  the  latter,  nearly 
all  of  the  distinguished  persons  who  were  present,  when 
questioned  as  to  their  ideas  on  the  subject  of  death,  frankly 
admitted  that  the  thought  of  it  inspired  them  with  fear  and 
sadness.  Amongst  modern  authors  Count  Leon  Tolstoi 
has  dealt  most  with  the  problem  of  death.  In  many  of  his 
works  whole  pages  of  memorable  reflections  on  the  subject  are 
to  be  found,  but  the  most  harrowing  and  terrible  picture  he 
ever  painted  is  contained  in  his  "  Confessions."  f  The  reader 
will  pardon  my  propensity  for  quoting  passages  relating  to 
death.  He  will  recall  the  account  of  the  Siege  of  Sebastopol 
already  quoted  by  me,  in  which  every  one  was  described  as 
fearing  death  when  faced  by  danger  ;  but  this  fear,  as  the 
author  was  a  young  man  of  twenty-six,  was  not  wholly 
absorbing. 

Shortly  before  he  attained  his  fiftieth  year,  Tolstoi  became 
bitterly  tormented  by  the  thought  of  death.  He  describes 
the  beginning  of  this  mental  crisis  in  the  following  words  : 
"  First  there  came  moments  of  perplexity,  of  arrest  of  vital 
force,  as  though  I  had  lost  the  power  of  living  and  moving  ; 
I  felt  utterly  lost,  and  fell  into  a  state  of  complete  dejection. 
This  passed  away,  however,  and  I  continued  to  live  on  as 
before.  Before  long  the  moments  of  perplexity  became 
more  frequent ;  the  arrest  of  my  living  energies  was  always 
manifested  by  a  renewal  of  the  same  questions,  '  Why  ?  and 
What  comes  after  ? '"  J  For  some  time  Tolstoi  did  not  pay 

"  La  Philosophic  de  la  Longevite,"  p.  209,  Paris,  1900, 
t  "  Les  Confessions,"  Paris,  1891. 
J  Loc.  cit.  p.  41. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  123 

much  attention  to  his  mental  condition,  but  by  degrees  he 
began  to  analyse  it,  and  reached  the  following  conclusion  : 
"  The  fact  is  that  life  is  a  blind  alley.  I  had  lived,  worked 
and  marched  onward,  and  had  arrived  at  the  edge  of  an 
abyss,  and  nothing  remained  to  me  but  to  fall  into  it.  And 
yet  I  could  neither  stop  nor  retrace  my  footsteps,  nor  shut 
my  eyes  in  order  not  to  see  suffering  and  inevitable  death. 
It  was  a  void,  a  complete  annihilation."  *  "  In  this  con- 
dition I  felt  that  I  must  cease  to  live,  and,  fearing  death, 
I  had  to  employ  various  ruses  to  prevent  myself  from 
taking  my  life."  f  "I  could  attach  no  reasonable  meaning 
to  any  action  of  my  life.  I  was  merely  astonished  to  think 
I  had  failed  to  realise  the  position  from  the  beginning.  All 
that,  I  said  to  myself,  must  have  been  patent  to  all  the 
world  long  ago.  If  not  to-day,  then  to-morrow,  disease 
and  death — they  are  already  here — will  attack  elderly 
persons — me — and  there  will  remain  only  corruption  and 
worms.  My  deeds,  whatever  they  may  be,  will  be  forgotten 
sooner  or  later,  and  I  shall  be  no  more.  Why  then  take 
pains  about  anything  ?  How  a  man  can  know  all  this  and 
yet  go  on  living  amazes  me.  One  can  only  go  on  living  just 
so  long  as  one  is  intoxicated  with  life  ;  once  sober,  however, 
one  cannot  fail  to  see  what  an  idiotic  fraud  it  all  is.  It  is 
also  true  that  there  is  nothing  even  amusing  or  intelligent 
about  it  ;  it  is  simply  stupid  and  cruel  and  nothing  more." 
Seeing  no  way  out  of  this,  Tolstoi  turned  his  reflections  on 
family  love  :  "  My  family  ...  I  say  to  myself  .  .  .  but 
then  my  family,  my  wife,  and  children  are  also  merely  human 
beings  !  They  live  under  the  same  conditions  as  I  myself. 
They  have  the  choice  between  living  a  lie  or  facing  the 
horrible  truth.  Why  then  should  they  live  at  all  ?  Why 
should  I  love,  cherish,  and  protect  them  ?  In  order  that 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  49.  t  Loc.  cit.  p,  51. 


i24  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

they  may  experience  the  same  despair,  or  that  they  may 
go  through  life  like  idiots  ?  Loving  them,  I  cannot  conceal 
the  truth  from  them  ;  every  step  forward  in  knowledge 
leads  to  this  truth  ;  and  the  truth  is  death."  *  To  con- 
clude this  series  of  quotations,  which  must  have  given  the 
reader  some  idea  of  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death, 
I  shah1  give  one  more  example,  taken,  not  from  the  pen  of 
a  master  but  from  daily  life.f  It  refers  to  the  death  in  the 
Christian  community  of  a  "  minister  of  God,  who  was  pious 
as  a  S.  Francis  of  Assisi,  candid  as  a  young  girl,  of  a  rigid 
asceticism,  and  renowned  for  his  charity."  Logically  speak- 
ing, the  death  of  such  a  man  should  have  been  peaceful. 
Had  he  been  a  fictitious  character,  his  author  would  not  have 
described  his  death  except  in  the  conventional  fashion. 
This  is  what  really  occurred,  according  to  the  letters  of  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  dying  man,  who  wrote  as  follows  : 
"  Our  poor  friend  is  fighting  death  inch  by  inch  in  a  way 
that  is  positively  tragic.  He  who  was  so  full  of  resignation, 
so  serene,  so  perfectly  at  peace  with  his  own  soul,  is  terrified 
by  the  approach  of  death.  It  is  a  horrible  sight,  that  moves 
one  to  tears.  We  are  powerless  not  only  to  afford  him 
physical  relief  but  to  console  the  terrible  anguish  which 
assails  the  clear  intellect  that  clings  so  desperately  to  life, 
and  which  death  will  claim  while  fully  alive.  '  I  could  still,' 
he  cried,  '  give  a  course  of  lectures  on  theology  or  political 
economy,  and  I  must  die  ...  It  is  terrible  to  be  fully  con- 
scious .  .  .  How  much  better  it  would  be  if  I  could  not 
think !  .  .  .  And  what  is  it  that  we  ask  of  God  ?  Eternal 
happiness  !  It  is  just  as  if  one  of  your  workpeople  came 
and  asked  you  for  a  thousand  francs  for  a  day's  work  1 
You  would  answer  him,  '  What  nonsense  you  talk,  you 

*  Loc.  dt.  p.  60. 

t   Union  pour  I' action  morale,  No.  6,  p.  258,  Jan.  15,  1902. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  125 

must  be  mad,  my  friend  ! '  It  is  hard  to  die.  I  confess 
to  you,  my  friend,  that  this  makes  one  reconsider  religion 
and  philosophy.  .  .  .  The  goodness  of  God  is  not  what  we 
think  .  .  .  there  is  a  mystery  over  us.  .  .  .  Is  death  then 
truly  the  King  of  Terrors  for  those  who  have  led  good 
lives  ? " 

What  is  this  love  of  life  which  makes  death  so  terrible  ? 
It  is  a  very  interesting  question,  and  Tolstoi  himself  has 
published  an  essay  on  "  the  fear  of  death."  * 

He  tries  to  prove  that  the  feeling  arises  from  a  false  con- 
ception of  life.  "  Those  who  fear  death,"  he  says,  "  fear 
it  because  it  seems  an  empty  darkness,  but  the  darkness 
and  emptiness  present  themselves  merely  because  they  have 
a  false  conception  of  life."  f  According  to  Tolstoi  man 
should  have  no  greater  fear  of  death  than  of  any  of  the 
other  changes  to  which  it  is  subjected  by  life.  "  No  one 
is  afraid  of  falling  asleep,"  he  says,  "  and  yet  the  pheno- 
mena of  sleep  are  like  those  of  death — there  is  the  same 
loss  of  consciousness.  Man  does  not  fear  sleep,  although  the 
arrest  of  consciousness  is  as  complete  as  in  death."  J 

Tolstoi  thinks  that  the  fear  of  death  is  a  superstition, 
and  that  it  disappears  when  we  see  life  as  it  is.  § 

Tokarsky,||  another  Russian  writer,  a  few  years  ago  pub- 
lished a  treatise  on  the  fear  of  death,  and  tried  to  show 
how  little  reason  there  was  for  it.  The  writer  was  a  phy- 
sician for  the  insane,  and  knew  himself  to  be  afflicted  with 
an  incurable  and  fatal  disease.  His  observations  on  the 
fear  of  death  were  probably  based  on  his  own  feelings. 

*  Complete  Works  of  Tolstoi  (in  Russian),  vol.  XII.,  p.  512, 
1897. 

t  Loc.  cit.  p.  517.       %  Loc.  cit.  p.  526.       §  Loc.  cit.  p.  536. 

||  "  Questions  de  Philosophic  et  de  Psychologic,"  1897,  No.  40, 
p.  931.  (In  Russian.) 


126  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

Judging  from  the  evidence  of  a  number  of  persons  wno  had 
been  in  mortal  danger,  Tokarsky  declared  that  death  had 
no  terror,  and  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  fear  it. 

Tokarsky's  theory  was  supported  in  recent  years  by 
Finot  *  whose  arguments  in  its  favour  were  similar  to  those 
of  his  predecessor.  He  held  that  man  himself  created  the 
fear  of  death,  and  that  the  prospect  of  an  unknown  future 
played  a  considerable  part  in  it.  "  Beyond  that  which  we 
see,"  says  Finot,  "  there  is  always  something  that  we  cannot 
see,  and  it  is  the  invisible  that  we  fear."  f  The  idea  that 
death  is  generally  attended  by  pain  seems  to  Finot  quite 
erroneous,  and  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  "  our  ignor- 
ances and  prejudices  are  responsible  for  the  creation  of  this 
superstition,  so  terrible  to  contemplate,  so  far  removed 
from  the  truth."  J  Instances  which  have  occurred  of  people 
threatened  with  death  and  suddenly  restored  to  life,  give 
proofs,  according  to  Finot,  that  death,  far  from  being  painful, 
is  attended  by  pleasant  sensations.  With  regard  to  this, 
Heim,  a  Swiss  savant,  says  that  tourists  who  have  had 
serious  falls  while  mountaineering,  and  have  been  so  near  to 
death  that  they  experienced  all  the  premonitory  symptoms, 
felt  above  all  a  sensation  of  ecstasy. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  some  forms  of  death  are  pleasant, 
but  it  is  no  less  certain  that  in  many  other  cases,  and  these 
too  the  majority — the  sensation  of  approaching  death  is, 
on  the  contrary,  extremely  painful.  This  question,  how- 
ever, is  not  necessarily  connected  with  the  fear  of  death 
that  may  come  to  those  who  are  not  yet  about  to  die.  But 
it  is  precisely  the  latter  mode  of  fear  that  is  so  important 
a  factor  in  human  life.  Men  who  are  dying  of  starvation 
do  not  feel  painfully  hungry  at  the  moment  of  death.  The 

*  "  La  Philosophic  de  la  Longevite,"  Paris,  1900. 
t  Loc.  cit.  p.  211.  %  Loc.  cit.  p.  213, 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  127 

actual  pain  of  hunger  lasts  only  for  a  limited  period, 
probably,  in  the  case  of  man,  only  about  twenty  hours, 
after  which  it  is  succeeded  by  a  condition  of  lassitude  and 
general  weakness,  which  however  is  different  from  painful 
hunger.  The  fear  of  death  is  similar,  for  in  certain  cases  it 
does  not  last  up  to  the  end  of  life.  The  pain  of  thirst,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  much  more  persistent,  lasting  up  to 
the  end. 

Finot  discussed  the  instinctiveness  of  the  fear  of  death. 
"  The  question,"  he  wrote,  "  is  important.  For  if  the  fear 
be  instinctive,  it  is  independent  of  our  will  and  not  to  be 
controlled  by  reason.  It  would  then  break  out  in  every 
case  at  the  approach  of  death.  Now  the  evidence  of  many 
persons  who  have  no  more  than  escaped  mortal  danger  is 
clearly  against  the  view."  *  Hunger  is  certainly  instinctive, 
and  yet  is  not  always  felt  when  the  body  is  exhausted  by 
want  of  food  or  menaced  by  death  from  starvation. 

Closer  investigation  leaves  no  doubt  but  that  the  fear  of 
death  is  truly  an  instinct.  In  some  of  the  higher  animals 
it  exhibits  itself  in  the  same  fashion  as  other  instincts.  The 
intimate  friend,  whom  I  have  already  mentioned,  was  for 
years  in  constant  expectation  of  death,  and  faced  its  approach 
with  perfect  calmness.  Believing  that  he  had  played  his  part 
in  life  to  the  best  of  his  power,  not  only  did  he  think  it  quite 
natural  that  he  should  cease  to  live,  but  he  regarded  the 
possibility  of  a  decrepid  and  painful  old  age  with  the  greatest 
possible  repugnance.  In  his  case,  neither  reason  nor  desire 
led  to  a  fear  of  death.  When,  however,  it  was  definitely 
diagnosed  that  he  suffered  from  a  disease  which  might  prove 
fatal,  there  was  aroused  in  him  a  certain  sensation  which 
must  have  been  the  fear  of  death.  Analysis  of  Tolstoi's 
statements  in  his  "  Confessions  "  makes  it  clear  that  his 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  211. 


128  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

sensations  on  reflecting  that  he  too  would  cease  to  be,  and 
that  there  would  be  left  only  corruption  and  worms,  were 
no  other  than  the  instinctive  fear  of  death,  a  fear  that  his 
reason  was  powerless  to  control.  To  follow  Tolstoi  in 
telling  any  one  that  the  fear  of  death  is  a  form  of  superstition 
which  must  be  subdued  by  the  intelligence,  is  no  better  than 
to  attempt  to  console  a  woman  about  to  undergo  ovariotomy 
by  telling  her  that  as  in  future  she  will  be  unable  to  bear 
children  she  ought  to  subdue  her  sexual  instincts.  She  will 
find  out  that  her  desire  is  not  under  control  of  the  will  but 
is  a  pure  instinct. 

The  fear  of  death  has  long  been  recognised  as  an  instinct. 
Schopenhauer,*  for  instance,  interpreted  it  in  that  way. 
According  to  him,  "  from  the  point  of  view  of  intelligence 
there  is  no  ground  for  fearing  death.  Reason,  which  is  the 
outcome  of  knowledge,  does  not  present  death  to  us  as  an  evil. 
It  is  certainly  not  the  rational,  conscious  part  of  ourselves 
which  fears  death  ;  the  fuga  mortis  which  pervades  all  living 
beings  is  an  emanation  of  the  blind  will."  This  "  blind 
will "  is  no  other  than  a  pure  instinct  which  is  independent 
of  our  rational  will. 

I  need  not  pursue  the  subject,  but  I  may  recall  that  Lord 
Byron  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  fear  of  death  is  an 
instinctive  manifestation  of  the  soul.  In  "  Cain "  he 
expressed  this  view  sufficiently  clearly : — 

I  live, 

But  live  to  die ;  and  living,  see  nothing 
To  make  death  hateful,  save  an  innate  clinging ', 
A  loathsome,  and  yet  all  invincible 
Instinct  of  life,  which  I  abhor,  as  I 
Despise  myself,  yet  cannot  overcome — 
And  so  I  live. 

*  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  533. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION    129 

Later  on  in  the  same  poem  Byron  makes  Cain  say  of  his 
father  Adam  : — 

Ere  he  plucked 

The  knowledge,  he  was  ignorant  of  death, 
Alas,  I  scarcely  now  know  what  it  is  ; 
And  yet  I  fear  it,  fear  I  know  not  what. 

It  is  then  indubitable  that  among  the  instincts  of  man 
there  is  one  which  loves  life  and  fears  death.  This  instinct 
develops  slowly  and  progressively  with  age.  In  that  respect 
it  is  astonishingly  different  from  other  instincts.  When 
hunger  or  thirst  or  sexual  desire  is  gratified  a  sensation  of 
satisfaction  is  experienced,  and  this  readily  passes  into  satiety 
or  even  indifference.  The  mood  lasts  for  a  certain  time, 
and  then  the  instinctive  needs  reawaken.  The  instinct  of 
life,  however,  behaves  very  differently.  In  most  human 
beings  it  develops  slowly  and  becomes  stronger  and  stronger 
as  the  years  pass  by.  In  childhood  and  early  youth  we  are 
very  anxious  to  "  grow  up,"  but  when  we  are  adult  we  have 
no  desire  to  grow  old.  We  are  greatly  disturbed  by  the 
appearance  of  wrinkles  and  grey  hair.  Instead  of  being 
glad  to  have  finished  a  great  part  of  our  mortal  career,  we 
feel  sad  at  being  nearer  the  inevitable  end.  Old  age,  as 
it  usually  presents  itself,  is  marked  by  ugly  features,  and 
often  by  repugnant  or  even  horrible  characters.  Little 
children  are  usually  terrified  by  the  appearance  of  very  old 
persons,  and  it  is  a  familiar  nursery  threat  to  send  for  an 
old  man. 

The  murder  of  the  aged  is  a  custom  widespread  amongst 
the  lower  races.  The  natives  of  Fiji  bury  their  old  men 
alive,  on  the  pretext  that  they  have  become  utterly  useless. 
The  custom  is  in  existence  throughout  Melanesia,  and  occurs 
in  New  Caledonia  and  in  most  of  the  adjacent  Polynesian 
islands.  Old  age  is  universally  despised  in  that  part  of  the 

i 


130  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

world.  The  natives  of  Australia  respect  old  people  so  long- 
as  they  retain  their  activity,  but  once  they  become  unable 
to  take  care  of  themselves  they  are  abandoned.  Often 
they  are  killed  and  eaten,  and  this  custom  is  favoured  by 
their  religious  beliefs.*  The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Germany, 
according  to  the  investigations  of  Grimm,  "  killed  the  old 
and  the  sick,  and  often  buried  them  alive." 

The  modern  civilised  world  has  certainly  made  considerable 
progress.  The  old  are  no  longer  killed  ;  they  are  tolerated, 
and  accorded  liberty  to  commit  suicide.  In  many  countries 
work  is  often  refused  to  the  old  on  the  plea  that  they  are 
not  strong  enough  for  it,  and  at  the  same  time  they  are 
refused  admission  to  almshouses  on  the  pretext  that  they 
are  not  yet  old  enough.  Dealing  with  the  question  of  the 
average  life  and  of  the  normal  life,  Paul  Bert  t  expressed 
himself  with  regard  to  the  aged  as  follows  :  "  They  deserve 
congratulations,  care  and  consideration,  but  the  prolongation 
of  their  lives  does  not  demand  any  special  solicitude  from 
society" 

However,  in  spite  of  the  characters  of  old  age  which  make 
it  horrible  and  useless,  and  at  best  no  more  than  to  be  toler- 
ated, and  in  spite  of  the  physical  and  intellectual  weakness  that 
accompany  it,  the  instinctive  love  of  life  is  preserved  in  the 
aged  in  its  strongest  form.  To  make  quite  certain  about  this 
I  have  visited  almshouses  for  the  aged,  and  it  was  easy  to 
see  that  all  the  inmates  hoped  that  their  days  might  be  pro- 
longed. In  a  Home  occupied  by  fairly  well-educated 
persons,  I  discovered  that  one  and  all  felt  as  if  they  were 

*  Waitz-Gerland,  "  Anthropologie  der  Naturvolker,"  vol.  VI. 

f  These  words  are  quoted  by  Ebstein  in  his  "  Die  Kunst  das 
menschliche  Leben  zu  verlangern,"  p.  51,  1891.  I  have  been 
unable  to  find  Paul  Bert's  own  words,  as  the  reference  given  by 
Ebstein  is  bibliographically  incorrect. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  131 

continually  being  threatened  by  death,  as  if  they  were 
convicts  awaiting  the  day  of  execution.  At  the  Salpe- 
triere,  where  there  are  a  number  of  very  old  women, 
septuagenarians  are  regarded  almost  as  young  girls.  The 
great  ambition  of  women  of  eighty  is  to  live  to  one  hundred, 
and  the  desire  to  live  is  almost  universal. 

This  seems  a  contradiction  of  another  fact  demonstrated 
by  statistics,  that  age  increases  the  frequency  of  suicide. 
It  is  certain  that  more  old  men  commit  suicide  than  young 
men,  but  on  careful  inquiry  into  the  statistics  of  the  sub- 
ject, it  becomes  evident  that  the  chief  incentive  to  suicide 
does  not  lie  in  the  cessation  of  the  will  to  live,  but  in  the 
difficulties  experienced  by  old  people  of  earning  a  living, 
and  in  the  frequent  presence  of  disease  in  the  aged. 
Deprived  of  the  means  of  existence,  refused  the  shelter  of 
charitable  institutions,  old  men  are  apt  to  fall  back  upon 
a  rope  or  the  fumes  of  charcoal.  Statistics  relating  to  the 
suicide  of  the  aged  show  that  the  greatest  number  of  victims 
belong  to  the  poorer  classes.  The  suicide  of  rich  old  men 
is  generally  prompted  by  the  presence  of  incurable  disease. 
There  is,  however,  need  for  much  wider  inquiry  into  the 
subject.  It  would  be  interesting,  for  instance,  to  obtain 
more  detailed  information  regarding  the  motives  which 
urge  the  old  to  put  an  end  to  themselves.  In  recent  times 
the  suicide  of  Max  von  Pettenkofer  aroused  public  attention. 
After  a  distinguished  scientific  career,  he  resigned  his  post 
of  Professor  at  the  University  of  Munich  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
six.  He  went  to  live  a  little  way  outside  the  town  on  a  pro- 
perty where  he  devoted  himself  to  gardening  and  other 
country  pursuits.  Although  a  sufferer  from  diabetes,  his 
intellect  remained  unimpaired,  but  he  became  a  prey  to 
extreme  melancholy,  owing  to  the  death  of  some  friends  to 
whom  he  was  greatly  attached.  Moreover,  during  the 


132  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

latter  part  of  his  life  he  suffered  from  a  septic  affection  of 
the  neck.  This  disease,  not  fatal  in  itself,  was  the  indirect 
cause  of  Pettenkofer's  death,  which  occurred  by  suicide  at 
the  age  of  eighty-three.  The  post-mortem  examination  * 
showed  a  fairly  well  preserved  organic  system,  healthy, 
with  the  exception  of  chronic  inflammation  of  the  mem- 
branes of  the  brain  and  atheroma  of  the  cerebral  arteries. 
The  circumstances  relating  to  this  particular  case  of  suicide 
are  unusually  well  known,  and  yet  there  are  many  obscure 
points  about  it  which  are  of  the  highest  importance.  The 
chronic  meringitis  from  which  the  aged  scientist  suffered 
conclusively  precluded  the  theory  that  the  motives  which 
led  him  to  commit  suicide  were  prompted  by  the  phenomena 
of  normal  life.  On  the  other  hand,  instances  are  not  wanting 
of  old  men  of  good  education  and  refined  surroundings  who 
cling  tenaciously  to  life,  even  at  a  much  more  advanced 
age  than  the  Munich  professor. 

The  instinctive  love  of  life  resembles  the  sexual  instinct 
in  a  great  many  women.  Just  as  the  love  of  life  goes  on 
increasing  when  the  best  of  life  is  past,  sexual  pleasure 
is  often  unfelt  by  women  until  their  beauty  is  already 
faded. 

Another  character  common  to  the  love  of  life  and  the 
sexual  instinct  is  that  they  both  persist  throughout  old 
age,  although  they  can  no  longer  be  satisfied. 

Edmond  de  Goncourt  relates  -in  his  diary  that  at  his 
reunions  of  literary  celebrities  (Zola,  Daudet,  and  Tour- 
geneff),  the  conversation  turned  most  frequently  upon 
the  subjects  of  love,  life  and  women.  "  Death  or  love, 
strangely  enough,"  says  Edmond  de  Goncourt,  "  are  always 
what  we  talk  about  after  dinner."  f  Old  age  was  even  then 

*  "  Munchener  Medicinische  Wochenschrift,"  p.  325,  1901. 
t  Loc.  cit.  p.  1 86. 


DISHARMONIES  OF  SELF-PRESERVATION  133 

knocking  at  the  doors  of  the  distinguished  writers  men- 
tioned, and  so  it  is  quite  natural  that  their  interest  should 
have  been  wholly  absorbed  by  the  two  instincts  which 
exhibit  such  enigmatic  and  paradoxical  tenacity. 

We  saw  in  the  preceding  chapter  how  disharmonious  is 
the  sexual  instinct  which  often  only  develops  at,  and  nearly 
always  persists  until,  a  period  of  life  when  its  normal  and 
regular  functional  activity  is  no  longer  possible.  We  saw, 
too,  the  ill  resulting  from  this  disharmony  in  the  repro- 
ductive apparatus.  The  ill,  however,  although  serious,  only 
amounts  in  that  case  to  an  inconvenience  which  can  be 
endured. 

Far  worse  is  the  disharmony  of  the  instinctive  love  of 
life  which  manifests  itself  when  death  is  felt  to  be  near  at 
hand.  It  is  then  incomprehensible  and  particularly  terrible, 
and  humanity,  from  time  immemorial,  has  sought  the  key 
to  the  tragic  puzzle,  and  tried  by  all  the  means  in  its  power 
to  unravel  the  mystery.  The  religions  of  all  times  have 
been  concerned  with  the  problem.  "  Religion,"  says 
Guyau,*  "  consists  for  the  most  part  of  meditation  upon 
death.  If  we  had  not  to  die  there  would  probably 
be  still  more  superstitions  among  men,  but  there  would 
probably  be  no  systematised  superstitions  nor  religions." 
Philosophy  also  has  tried  to  solve  the  question  of  death. 
Some  ancient  philosophers  held  the  opinion  that  philosophy 
is  only  a  meditation  upon  death.  Socrates  and  Cicero  f 
have  well  said  that  "  the  life  of  a  philosopher  is  a  continual 
meditation  upon  death."  In  our  own  day  Schopenhauer 
developed  the  same  theory.  "  Death,"  he  said, £  "  is  the 
real  inspiring  genius  of  philosophy.  .  .  .  Without  death  it 

*  "  L'Irreligion  de  1'Avenir,"  Sixth  Edition,  p.  449,  Paris,  1895, 

f  "  Tusculanes,"  vol.  I.,  chap.  30. 

J  "  Die  Welt  als  Wills  und  Verstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  527. 


i34  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

is  doubtful  if  philosophy  would  exist  at  all.  It  is  therefore 
quite  natural  that  a  special  essay  on  Death  should  preface 
the  last,  the  most  serious,  and  the  most  important  of  my 
books." 

Judging  from  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  last  three  chapters, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  human  constitu- 
tion, although  in  many  ways  perfect  and  sublime,  ex- 
hibits numerous  and  serious  disharmonies,  which  are  the 
source  of  all  our  troubles.  Not  being  so  well  adapted  to 
the  conditions  of  life  as  orchids  are,  for  example,  in  the 
matter  of  their  fertilisation  by  the  mediation  of  insects, 
or  the  burrowing  wasps  for  the  protection  of  their  young, 
humanity  resembles  rather  those  insects  the  instinct  of 
which  guides  them  towards  the  flame  which  burns  their 
wings. 

Even  at  a  time  when  humanity  had  attained  no  definite 
knowledge  of  itself,  a  vague  suspicion  prevailed  as  to  the 
existence  of  disharmonies,  and  an  effort  was  made  to  remedy 
the  evil.  The  following  chapters  will  show  what  man  has 
done  with  a  view  to  remedying  the  natural  disharmonies 
of  his  constitution. 


PART   II 

ATTEMPTS   TO   DIMINISH    THE    ILLS 
ARISING     FROM    THE     DISHAR- 
MONIES   OF    THE    HUMAN 
CONSTITUTION 

{RELIGIOUS  AND  PHILOSOPHICAL  SYSTEMS) 


CHAPTER   VII 

RELIGIOUS  ATTEMPTS  TO  COMBAT  THE  ILLS  ARISING 
FROM  THE  DISHARMONIES  OF  THE  HUMAN  CON- 
STITUTION 

Animism  as  the  foundation  of  primitive  religions — The 
Jewish  religion  in  relation  to  the  doctrine  of  immortality 
of  the  soul — The  religions  of  China — Ancestor  worship  in 
Confucianism — The  conception  of  immortality  in  Taoism 
— The  persistence  of  the  soul  in  the  Buddhist  religion — The 
paradise  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists — Ancestors  worshipped 
as  gods — Influence  of  religious  faith  on  the  fear  of  death — 
Pessimism  of  the  doctrine  of  Buddha — The  meaning  of 
Nirvana — Resignation  as  preached  by  Buddha — Objections 
to  the  immortality  of  the  soul-  —Irritability  of  the  tissues  and 
cells  of  the  body — Religious  hygiene — Religious  means  of 
controlling  the  reproductive  functions  and  of  preventing 
diseases — Failure  of  religions  in  their  attempts  to  combat  the 
ills  arising  from  the  disharmonies  of  the  human  constitution 

HUMANITY  did  not  await  the  discovery  by  science  of  the 
existence  of  disharmonies  before  trying  to  find  remedies  for 
them.  The  will  to  live,  to  preserve  health,  to  satisfy  the 
instincts  and  to  make  them  act  in  unison,  have  driven 
mankind,  in  the  very  earliest  days  of  reflection,  to  invent 
remedies  for  the  imperfection  of  the  human  constitution. 

I  have  shown  that,  even  in  the  case  of  animals,  the  instinct 
as  to  choice  of  food  does  not  save  them  from  certain  harmful 
substances.  Man  himself  has  for  long  recognised  that  this 
instinct  of  his  is  no  safe  guide,  and  has  tried  to  discover 
surer  methods  of  distinguishing  between  substances  that  are 


i38  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

useful  as  foods  and  substances  that  may  cause  disease  or 
death.  The  best  wisdom  of  primitive  man  must  have  been 
given  to  the  observation  of  the  effects  of  substances  which 
had  been  eaten,  and  to  a  consequent  framing  of  dietary 
rules. 

The  reproductive  functions,  in  the  same  way,  must  have 
attracted  the  notice  of  man  in  very  early  times,  as  he  must 
have  found  the  harm  that  came  from  a  blind  following 
of  instinctive  desire. 

Above  all  other  reasons,  man  must  have  been  impelled 
by  his  instinctive  love  of  life  and  fear  of  death  to  find  some 
way  out  of  his  dangerous  situation.  To  preserve  his  life, 
man  must  have  sought  wise  choice  of  food  and  control  of 
sexuality. 

Since  the  dawn  of  intelligence,  man  has  tried  to  judge  the 
unknown  from  the  analogies  given  by  what  he  knows  best, 
that  is  to  say,  by  his  own  self.  Thus  he  came  to  attribute 
to  everything  around  him  qualities  like  his  own  qualities, 
and  motives  .like  his  own  motives.  He  came  to  think  not 
only  that  all  living  beings  were  possessed  of  will  and  intel- 
ligence, but  that  inanimate  things  conducted  themselves  like 
human  beings. 

Such  a  primitive  idea  is  the  basis  of  what  Tylor  has  called 
"  Animism,"  the  foundation  of  the  philosophy  and  religion 
of  savage  and  civilised  man  alike.  When  a  man  was  seen 
to  die,  it  was  plain  that  he  did  not  entirely  disappear,  but 
merely  became  transformed  into  a  new  condition.  The  dead 
body  was  not  alive  as  we  are,  but,  none  the  less,  it  was 
alive  in  a  fashion  of  its  own.  This  was  the  answer  to  the 
desire  for  the  preservation  of  life,  to  the  fear  of  death,  that 
is  to  say,  of  total  extinction.  It  is  practically  identical  with 
faith  in  immortality  and  a  future  life. 

The  animistic  conception  is  almost  world  wide.      It  is 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  139 

plain  that  it  afforded  the  most  efficacious  palliative  for 
minds  revolting  against  the  inevitability  of  death,  and  that 
it  harmonised  with  our  intense  will  to  live.  "  Such  child- 
like ignoring  of  death,"  wrote  Tylor,*  "  such  child-like  make- 
believe,  that  the  dead  can  still  do  as  heretofore,  may  well 
have  led  the  savage  to  bury  with  his  kinsman  the  weapons, 
clothes,  and  ornaments  that  he  used  in  life,  to  try  to  feed 
the  corpse,  to  put  a  cigar  in  the  mouth  of  the  skull  before 
its  final  burial,  to  lay  playthings  in  the  infant's  grave. 
But  one  thought  beyond  would  carry  this  dim  blind  fancy 
into  the  range  of  logical  reasoning.  Granted  that  the  man 
is  dead,  and  his  soul  gone  out  of  him,  then  the  way  to  pro- 
vide that  departed  soul  with  food  or  clothes  or  weapons  is 
to  bury  or  burn  them  with  the  body." 

It  is  needless  to  recapitulate  the  various  animistic  customs 
which  were  in  vogue  among  primitive  peoples,  and  which 
have  left  marked  traces  amongst  nearly  if  not  all  civilised 
races.  The  details  may  be  found  in  the  works  of 
several  authors,  notably  Tylor,  Lubbock,  and  Waitz- 
Gerland.f  I  snau<  mention  only  a  few,  choosing  those  that 
seem  most  plain.  The  Turanians  of  Eastern  Asia  bury 
with  their  dead  all  sorts  of  implements,  such  as  axes  and 
flints,  and  food,  such  as  meat  and  butter,  believing  that  the 
departed  will  have  need  of  these  during  the  long  voyage 
in  the  land  of  the  spirits.  A  Tasmanian,  on  being  asked 
why  spears  were  buried  with  the  dead,  replied,  as  if  the 
answer  were  self-evident,  "  Of  course  for  the  use  in  combat 
of  him  who  has  fallen  asleep."  The  Greenlanders  place 
bows  and  other  weapons  in  the  tombs  of  their  men,  and 

*  Tylor.  "  Primitive  Culture,"  vol.  I.,  p.  485.  Third  Edition, 
1891. 

t  Waitz-Gerland.  "  Anthropologie  der  Naturvolker,"  6  vols., 
1866-1872. 


1 40  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

knives,  needles,  and  other  instruments  for  sewing  are  buried 
with  their  women,  in  the  full  belief  that  such  objects  will 
be  useful  in  the  other  world.  In  the  Congo  region,  the 
curious  custom  exists  of  leaving  a  hole  in  the  grave  over 
the  mouth  of  the  dead  body,  and  once  a  month  passing 
into  this  hole  meat  and  drink. 

Many  races  are  not  content  to  place  merely  inanimate 
objects  in  the  graves.  The  Caribbeans,  believing  that 
the  human  spirit  after  death  is  carried  to  the  kingdom  of 
dead  souls,  sacrifice  slaves  on  the  tombs  of  their  chiefs, 
in  order  that  the  latter  may  be  attended  in  the  next  world. 
With  the  same  object  they  bury  dogs  and  weapons.  The 
negroes  of  the  Gold  Coast,  at  the  funeral  of  a  great  man, 
kill  women  and  slaves  that  he  may  be  provided  for  in  the 
next  world.  Moreover,  they  bury  with  him  his  finest 
apparel,  his  gilded  fetishes,  and  corals  and  pearls,  so  that 
the  dead  man  may  continue  to  make  use  of  them. 

Tylor  states  that  such  animistic  conceptions  occur  amongst 
all  savages  without  exception.  According  to  Herbert 
Spencer,  if  we  take  groups  of  the  human  race,  such  as  tribes, 
societies,  and  nations,  we  find  abundant  evidence  that  all, 
or  nearly  all,  have  a  belief,  vague  or  clear,  in  the  resurrection 
of  a  double  of  the  dead  man.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
the  origin  of  this  widespread  belief  is  the  image  of  the 
departed  that  comes  to  us  in  dreams.  These  images  are 
taken  as  real  visits  of  the  dead. 

In  civilised  races  there  are  numerous  relics  of  the  old 
beliefs.  The  Spaniards  set  bread  and  wine  on  the  graves 
of  their  relatives  on  the  anniversaries  of  their  deaths. 
The  Bulgarians  hold  a  feast  of  the  dead  on  Palm  Sunday. 
They  eat  and  drink  well,  and  then  leave  the  remains  of 
the  banquet  on  the  graves  of  their  relatives  that  these  may 
consume  them  in  the  night. 


RELIGIOUS    REMEDIES  141 

Saint-Foix  *  relates  that  when  Bertrand  Duguesclin  was 
buried  at  St.  Denis,  in  1389,  several  horses  were  sacrificed. 
The  Bishop  of  Auxerre  first  blessed  them,  laying  his  hands 
on  their  heads,  and  then  they  were  killed.  At  Treves,  in 
1781,  at  the  burial  of  General  Frederic  Casimir,  his  horse, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  was  led  in 
front  of  the  bier,  and  when  the  General  had  been  laid  in 
the  tomb,  the  horse  was  killed  and  buried  with  hiin.f 

Although  the  sacrifice  of  men  and  animals  is  no  longer 
made  by  civilised  peoples  at  burials,  many  funeral  customs 
have  an  obviously  animistic  origin.  In  Russia,  for  instance, 
rice  is  placed  alongside  the  corpse,  and  pine  branches  are 
strewed  along  the  way  to  be  traversed  by  the  procession. 
The  wreaths  of  "  immortelles,"  used  so  largely  at  funerals 
by  the  modern  French,  have  an  extremely  ancient  origin. 
They  were  employed  by  the  Romans,  and  probably  their 
use  implied  a  conception  of  a  future  life  in  a  region  where 
plants  and  flowers  grew. 

The  belief  in  life  after  death,  so  widespread  in  the  world, 
has  been  the  foundation  of  all  religions.  I  cannot  follow 
this  question  here  as  closely  as  it  deserves.  To  investigate 
it  elaborately  would  take  more  space  than  this  volume 
affords,  and  more  knowledge  than  I  possess.  However, 
it  is  important  to  my  argument  to  insist  that,  among  races 
that  have  inhabited  very  different  parts  of  the  earth,  that 
have  had  very  different  manners  and  have  passed  through 
different  stages  of  civilisation,  the  conviction  has  been  strong 
that  death  is  not  the  end  of  all,  but  only  a  door  leading  from 
one  kind  of  existence  to  another.  Because  of  the  high  impor- 
tance of  the  existence  of  this  conviction,  however,  I  must 

*  "  Essais  Historiques  sur  Paris,"  in  (Euvres  Completes,  vol. 
IV.,  p.  150.  Maestricht,  1778. 

t  Quoted  by  Tylor  in  "  Primitive  Culture,"  chap.  XI, 


i42  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

discuss  some  of  the  criticisms  that  have  been  made  as  to  its 
universality. 

It  has  been  asserted  repeatedly  that  the  idea  of  a  future 
life  was  not  a  part  of  the  Jewish  religion,  as  formulated 
in  the  Bible.  Haeckel  has  recently  repeated  a  common 
opinion  that  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was  absent 
from  the  oldest  and  purest  form  of  the  Jewish  religion. 
"  There  is  not  to  be  found,"  he  said,  "  either  in  the  Penta- 
teuch or  in  those  more  ancient  parts  of  the  Old  Testament 
which  were  written  before  the  Babylonian  captivity,  any 
idea  of  the  persistence  of  the  human  soul."  This  is  true 
only  within  limits.  No  doubt  the  books  of  Moses  contain 
no  reference  to  a  future  life  nor  to  heaven  and  hell  in  the 
sense  of  modern  creeds,  but  it  is  no  less  true  that  the  ancient 
Jews  shared  with  other  races  the  conception  of  a  survival 
after  death.  "  Like  almost  all  primitive  nations,"  wrote 
Renan,*  "  the  Hebrews  believed  in  a  kind  of  double  per- 
sonality, in  a  shadow  pale  and  thin  which,  after  death, 
descended  underground  and  passed  a  sad  and  colourless 
existence  in  the  sombre  halls  of  the  dead.  The  dead 
dwelt  there,  without  feeling,  or  knowledge,  or  memory, 
in  a  world  without  light,  abandoned  by  God.  At  the  most 
the  old  Hebrews  hoped  to  obtain  for  themselves  a  quiet 
resting-place,  a  pleasant  couch  for  the  time  when  they  would 
be  with  the  dead.  It  comforted  them  to  picture  themselves 
as  lying  amongst  their  ancestors  in  quiet  communion." 

Ancestor  worship,  which  is  associated  closely  with  the 
idea  of  a  future  life,  appears  repeatedly  in  the  Pentateuch. 
Jacob,  when  he  felt  death  coming  upon  him,  called  his  son 
Joseph  and  said  unto  him,  "  Bury  me  not,  I  pray  thee,  in 
Egypt  ;  but  I  will  lie  with  my  fathers,  and  thou  shalt  carry 
me  out  of  Egypt,  and  bury  me  in  their  burying-place." 

*  "  Histoire  du  Peuple  d'Israel,"  vol.  I.,  pp.  128-129.     1887. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  143 

According  to  Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye,*  "  we  are  coming 
to  recognise  more  and  more  how  strongly  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  in  fact  all  other  peoples,  were  tinged  with 
animism  and  ancestor  worship." 

It  is  very  remarkable  how  the  idea  of  a  future  life,  which 
was  vague  in  the  early  days  of  Israel,  grew  more  and  more 
clear.  Ezekiel  (sixth  century  B.C.),  when  he  had  "  seen  the 
visions  of  God,"  prophesied  of  things  to  come,  and  declared 
that  God  would  breathe  life  into  the  dry  bones  of  the  dead. 
The  Book  of  Daniel  (second  century  B.C.)  expressed  the  same 
idea  in  a  stronger  fashion  :  "  And  many  of  them  that 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  ever- 
lasting life  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt 
(Daniel  xii.  2).  "  It  is  plain,"  said  Renan,f  after  quoting 
these  words,  "  that  Israel  had  now  reached  the  last  stage  in 
the  secular  development  of  her  ideas,  and  had  reached  the 
conception  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  synonymous  with  the 
future  world  and  the  resurrection.  As  the  conception  of 
a  soul  distinct  from  the  body  was  foreign  to  her,  she  could 
not  conceive  of  a  future  life  apart  from  resurrection  of 
the  body." 

Still  later,  in  the  Talmud,  the  conception  of  a  future  life 
is  clothed  with  details.  Paradise  is  depicted  as  a  region 
filled  with  sweet  odours,  while  hell  is  an  unclean  place, 
thick  with  mire  and  smoke.  According  to  the  Talmud,  in 
the  life  beyond  the  grave,  "  there  is  neither  eating  nor  drink- 
ing ;  the  good  sit  there  with  crowns  on  their  heads  and  see 
God  in  bliss."  J 

At  the  date  of  the  Cabalistic  philosophy,  .the  Jews  had 

*  Lehrbuch  der  Religionsgeschichte,"  vol.  I.,  p.  253.  Freiburg, 
Leipzig.  Second  Edition,  1897. 

f  "  Histoire  du  Peuple  d'Israel,"  vol.  IV.,  p.  327.     1893. 
Talmud.    "  Traite  Berakhote,"  sheet  17. 


i44  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

embraced  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  souls,  and  had 
come  to  believe  that  the  spirit  of  Adam  had  entered  David 
and  would  pass  on  to  the  Messiah.  Some  human  souls 
passed  into  the  bodies  of  animals,  into  the  leaves  of  trees, 
or  even  into  stones. 

It  is  plain  that  the  idea  of  a  future  life  was  a  part  of 
the  Jewish  religion. 

It  has  been  said,  also,  that  the  idea  of  a  future  life  was 
absent  from  the  religions  of  the  Chinese.  Biichner,*  for 
instance,  who  came  to  be  almost  the  official  representative  oi 
the  materialism  of  the  second  half  of  last  century,  asserts  that 
"  Buddhism,  that  famous  religion,  the  most  widespread  and 
one  of  the  most  ancient,  which  counts  among  its  followers 
nearly  a  third  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  ignores  com 
pletely  the  immortality  of  the  soul."  Haeckel,  also,  in 
the  "  Riddle  of  the  Universe,"  a  volume  that  sums  up  the 
materialism  of  the  end  of  the  last  century,  makes  a  similar 
statement.  "  The  higher  oriental  religions  include  no  belief 
whatever  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  it  is  not  found 
in  Buddhism,  the  religion  that  dominates  30  per  cent. 
of  the  entire  human  race  ;  it  is  not  found  in  the  ancient 
popular  religion  of  the  Chinese,  nor  in  the  reformed  religion 
of  Confucius  which  succeeded  it."  f 

This  question  demands  a  somewhat  closer  investigation. 
It  has  been  thoroughly  proved  that  the  basis  of  the  ancient 
religion  of  the  Chinese  was  no  more  than  an  extreme  develop- 
ment of  ancestor  worship.  Every  important  event  in  family 
affairs  was  accomplished  "  in  the  presence  of  the  ancestors." 
It  was  a  bond  with  relatives  beyond  the  grave.  As  in 
other  cases  of  animism  and  ancestor-worship,  meats  were 
offered  to  the  dead,  and  objects  were  buried  with  them 

*  "  Force  et  Matiere."     Sixth  French  edition,  p.  439.     1884. 
t  Loc.  cit.,  p.  198. 


RELIGIOUS    REMEDIES  145 

to  be  of  service  to  them.  According  to  A.  Reville,*  the 
Chinese  as  a  whole  "  fully  recognised  the  conception  of 
personal  survival  after  death  ;  if  there  were  no  other  reason 
for  stating  this,  it  would  be  enough  to  point  out  that  offerings 
of  real  food  would  be  incomprehensible,  if  made  to  persons 
supposed  to  be  non-existent  or  reduced  to  complete  uncon- 
sciousness." As  they  offer  to  the  dead,  food  and  clothing 
and  precious  things,  it  is  plain  that  the  Chinese  think  of 
life  beyond  the  grave  as  not  very  different  from  this  life. 
"  The  dead  maintain  their  interest  in  the  affairs  and  persons 
and  food  that  was  familiar  to  them." 

As  the  idea  of  immortality  became  developed  further, 
the  Chinese  modified  their  customs.  Instead  of  offering  to 
the  dead  material  objects,  as  is  still  done  by  many  peoples, 
they  came  to  substitute  emblems.  "  Houses  and  clothing 
and  food  imitated  in  paper,  and  dolls  of  paper  and  straw 
to  represent  slaves,  are  burned,  so  that  the  spiritual  forms 
of  these  objects  may  be  offered  to  the  spirit  they  wish  to 
honour."  f 

One  of  the  chief  motives  of  ancestor-worship  is  fear  lest 
the  dead,  if  neglected,  may  visit  their  wrath  on  the  living 
by  sending  plagues  and  pestilence  upon  them.J 

The  worship  of  the  dead  had  laid  hold  of  the  Chinese  so 
firmly  that  even  Confucius,  notwithstanding  his  intelli- 
gence and  scepticism,  paid  it  a  large  tribute.  "  Confucius 
the  philosopher,"  said  Reville,  "  regarded  it  as  a  duty  to 
offer  to  his  ancestors  the  gifts  of  food  that  princes  had  sent 
to  him  desiring  to  honour  him."  § 

*  "  Histoire  des  Religions/'  vol.  III.,  "  La  religion  chinoise," 
Paris,  1889  ;  see  also  "  Chantepie  de  la  Saussaye,"  loc.  cit.  vol.  I., 
p.  58. 

f  Reville,  loc.  cit.  p.   191.  %  Ibid.  p.  195. 

§  Loc.  cit.  p.  185. 

K 


146  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

Confucius  and  his  followers  were  reticent  and  ambiguous 
in  their  references  to  a  future  life,  but  that  attitude  did 
not  prevent  them  from  "  observing  the  customs  and  cere- 
monies as  carefully  as  if  they  had  had  a  confident  faith  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul."  *  Although  Lao-tseu  himself 
believed  neither  in  heaven  nor  hell,  and  professed  the  most 
rationalistic  views,  his  disciples  none  the  less  accepted  the 
doctrine  of  immortality,  and  even  came  to  believe  in  rewards 
and  punishments  after  death. 

The  followers  of  Lao-tseu,  the  Taoists,  devoted  them- 
selves specially  to  the  problem  of  immortality.  They  made 
efforts  to  discover  an  elixir  that  would  be  capable  of  pro- 
longing earthly  life  to  eternity.  "  One  of  the  chief  claims 
of  Taoism,"  wrote  Reville,  "  was  the  possession  of  a  specific 
against  death.  It  was  true  that  they  admitted  this  to  be 
not  only  very  difficult  to  obtain,  but  still  more  difficult  to- 
employ.  However,  if  certain  rules  were  observed  strictly 
they  were  at  least  confident  of  great  prolongation  of  life. 
It  was  only  the  very  few  Taoists  who  had  reached  per- 
fection who  could  hope  to  pass  into  the  better  world  without 
being  subjected  to  the  pains  of  death."  f  And  so  some  of 
the  masters  of  Taoism,  such,  for  instance,  as  Chang-Tao- 
Ling,  ascended  to  heaven  without  dying,  by  climbing  a. 
lofty  peak  and  vanishing  into  the  skies."  J 

The  ordinary  Taoists  accepted  fully  the  idea  of  immortality. 
They  "  taught  the  doctrine  of  purgatory  for  those  who> 
were  not  evil.  To  arrive  at  this,  Lao-tseu  simply  expanded 
and  applied  to  mankind  generally  an  idea  that  was  already 
familiar  to  him,  the  conception  of  the  transmigration  of 
one  soul  through  several  successive  bodies.  By  means  of 

*  "Histoire  des  Religions,"  vol.  III.,  "La  religion  chinoise,'1 
Paris  1889,  p.  187. 

f  Loc.  cii.  p.  450.  1  Ibid.  p.  444. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  147 

such  expiatory  transformations,  a  man  who  had  not  reached 
it  directly  through  the  holiness  of  his  life,  could  attain  the 
immortality  of  genii  and  the  blessed."  * 

It  was  believed  for  long  that  the  Taoists,  following  the 
teaching  of  their  master,  did  not  recognise  a  heft.  But 
this  opinion  has  had  to  be  abandoned,  because  the  "Taoist 
clergy  have  provided,  in  the  temples  dedicated  to  the  tutelary 
deities  of  their  cities,  paintings  illustrating  the  torments  pre- 
pared for  the  guilty  by  the  ten  courts  of  justice  that  sit  in 
the  depths  of  an  ocean  hidden  in  the  interior  of  the  earth."  f 

Clearly  then,  many  Chinese,  both  Taoists  and  followers 
of  Confucius,  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  world  beyond  the 
grave.  However,  the  denial  of  immortality  has  been 
ascribed  to  Buddhists  in  particular. 

Buddha  accepted  the  Brahmanist  doctrine  of  transmi- 
gration of  the  soul.  This  has  been  established  clearly  on 
the  evidence  of  several  documents  of  admitted  authenticity. 
Orthodox  Buddhism  is  somewhat  vague  on  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  Buddha  himself  avoided  making  a  decisive 
statement  on  this  matter.  In  such  circumstances  "  those 
who  were  terrified  at  annihilation,  and  who  could  not  give 
up  the  hope  of  eternal  happiness,  interpreted  the  silence  of 
Buddha  according  to  their  own  desire,  and  inferred  that  he 
did  not  forbid  them  to  hope."  j 

There  are  many  instances  of  the  evasions  of  Buddhist 
teachers  when  they  were  pressed  with  this  disturbing  ques- 
tion. Pasenadi,  the  king,  once  met  Khema,  the  nun,  a 
disciple  of  Buddha,  renowned  for  her  wisdom.  The  king 
put  to  her  the  following  question  :  "  Does  the  Perfect  One 
(Buddha)  exist  after  death  ?  "  "  The  Sublime  One,  O 

*  "Histoire  des  Religions,"  vol.  III.,  "La  religion  chinoise," 
Paris,  1889,  p.  469.  t  Ibid-  P-  47°- 

I  Oldenburg,  "Le  Bouddha,"  French  translation,p.  281,  Paris,  1894. 


I48  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

great  king,  has  not  revealed  to  us  the  existence  of  paradise 
beyond  the  grave."  "  Then  the  Perfect  One  exists  no  longer 
now  that  he  is  dead,  O  reverend  lady  ?  "  "  Neither,  O 
king,  has  the  Sublime  One  revealed  that  He  who  is  perfect 
does  not  exist  now  that  He  is  dead."  "Am  I  to  believe,  then, 
O  reverend  lady,  that  the  Perfect  One  still  lives,  although 
He  is  dead,  and  at  the  same  time  does  not  live  ?  Am  I  to 
believe,  O  wise  lady,  that  the  Perfect  One  being  dead, 
neither  exists  nor  does  not  exist  ?  "  * 

Take  again  the  mode  in  which  Soumirmita,f  "  the  son  of 
a  god,  and  surrounded  and  preceded  by  a  crowd  of  gods," 
worshipped  Bouddha  (Tathagata)  :  "  Thou  art  the  phy- 
sician, skilful  to  save,  and  who  givest  the  gift  of  life  ever- 
lasting." 

The  Buddhists,  as  they  were  not  given  clear  doctrines  on 
this  subject,  very  naturally  followed  their  inclinations  by 
accepting  the  idea  of  life  beyond  the  grave.  And  certainly 
Buddhism  does  not  teach  annihilation  of  the  body  after 
death,  although  this  has  been  lightly  taken  for  granted. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  so  persuaded  of  survival  after  death 
as  being  the  rule,  that  it  grants  only  to  rare  and  elect  souls 
the  privilege  of  at  length  laying  down  the  burden  of  con- 
tinuous life.J 

The  Chinese  Buddhists  retained  the  fundamental  concep- 
tions of  the  ancient  religion  of  their  land  and  continued  to 
worship  their  ancestors  and  to  seek  the  readiest  path  to 
immortality.  They  soon  came  to  transform  Nirvana  into 
paradise,  and  to  inculcate  in  the  Chinese  race  the  doctrine 
of  future  rewards  and  punishments.  "  The  Buddhist  monas- 
teries in  China  for  the  most  part  possessed  a  set  of  little 

*  Oldenburg,  loc.  cit.  p.  282. 

f  "  Lalita  Vistara,"  loc.  cit.  p.  303. 

J  Reville,  loc    cit.  p.  475. 


RELIGIOUS    REMEDIES  149 

rooms,  in  which  there  were  depicted,  in  vivid  colours, 
crowded  scenes  from  the  eighteen  hells  of  tribulation 
and  lamentation.  For  there  exist  under  the  earth 
eight  hells  filled  with  the  torments  of  fire,  and  ten  with 
the  equally  terrible  horrors  of  ice."  * 

The  paradise  of  the  Chinese  Buddhists,  or  Ni-pan  (Land  of 
the  Pure),  is  a  region  abounding  in  "  gold  and  silver,  and 
precious  stones.  Rivers  of  crystal  run  on  golden  sands 
covered  with  splendid  lotus-flowers  and  traversed  by 
delightful  paths.  Lovely  music  is  always  to  be  heard. 
Three  times  a  day  a  shower  of  blossoms  falls.  There  are 
to  be  seen  there  gorgeous  birds,  pheasants,  and  parrots, 
and  many  others ;  and  these,  every  quarter  of  an  hour,  in 
a  choir  of  melodious  voices,  trill  out  the  beauties  of  religion 
and  recall  to  their  hearers  the  Buddha,  Dharma,  and  Sungha. 
These  are  some  of  the  wonders  prepared  for  those  who  are 
born  again  after  death.  Into  that  land  neither  sin  nor 
any  evil  enters. ".f 

I  need  no  longer  accumulate  details  to  show  the  falseness 
of  the  view  that  a  third  of  humanity  profess  materialism 
to  the  exclusion  of  any  belief  in  survival  after  death.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  vast  majority 
of  mankind  is  convinced  that  death  puts  no  definite  term 
to  existence,  and  that  this  life  is  no  more  than  a  passing 
stage  leading  to  a  life  to  come.  However,  although  many 
simple  races  believe  that  the  future  life  is  merely  a  continua- 
tion of  this  life,  the  more  subtle-minded  races  present  the 
future  life  as  filled  with  delights  for  the  good  and  with 
torments  for  the  wicked. 

Such  an  idea  of  the  next  world,  which  is  very  generally 
accepted,  is  probably  the  basis  of  religions.     From  it  have 
come  the   conceptions  of   supreme   beings   and   divinities 
*  Reville,  loc.  cit.  p.  556.  \  Ibid.  p.  525. 


1 5o  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

Many  facts  go  to  show  that  the  primitive  gods  were  no  other 
than  the  relatives  and  ancestors  of  the  living,  now  dead, 
yet  living  in  another  world  and  ruling  the  affairs  of  this 
world.  Wicked  ancestors  became  transformed  into  evil 
spirits,  while  good  ancestors  became  mild  and  benevolent 
deities. 

Very  many  peoples  offer  prayers  to  their  ancestors  and 
treat  them  as  gods.  The  Kaffirs  pray  and  sacrifice  to  their 
dead  relatives,  believing  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  haunt 
their  late  dwelling-places,  and,  according  to  their  characters, 
help  or  torment  their  descendants.  As  they  are  able  to 
cause  good  or  evil  after  death,  these  play  the  part  of  gods. 
But,  as  Lubbock  points  out  ("  Origin  of  Civilisation "), 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  god  of  a  savage  is  only 
a  being  like  unto  himself,  although  probably  rather  more 
powerful,  and  I  shall  show  that  there  are  many  intermediate 
stages  between  true  gods  and  mere  dead  parents  whose  malice 
is  to  be  feared,  or  whose  kindness  is  to  be  supplicated. 

The  North  American  Indians  *  pray  to  the  spirits  of 
their  forefathers  for  good  weather  or  luck  in  hunting,  and 
fancy  when  an  Indian  falls  into  the  fire  that  the  ancestral 
spirits  pushed  him  in  to  punish  neglect  of  the  customary 
gifts,  while  the  natives  of  Louisiana  are  said  to  have  even 
gone  so  far  as  to  build  temples  for  dead  men.  In  Polynesia 
"  at  Tanna,  the  gods  are  spirits  of  departed  ancestors,  aged 
chiefs  becoming  deities  after  death,  presiding  over  the  growth 
of  yams  and  fruit-trees,  and  receiving  from  the  islanders 
prayer  and  offerings  of  first  fruits."  f  In  the  Malay  Islands 
"  the  souls  of  deceased  ancestors  are  looked  to  for  pros- 
perity in  life  and  help  in  distress."  In  Africa  ancestor- 
worship  is  well  developed.  The  Zulu  warriors,  "  aided  by 

*  Tylor,  "Primitive  Culture,"  vol.  II.,  pp.  113-114,  Third 
Edition,  1891.  f  Ibid.  vol.  II.,  p.  114. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  15  r 

the  amatongo,'  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors,  conquer  in 
the  battle.  Even  the  little  children  and  old  women,  of 
small  account  in  life,  become  at  death  spirits  having  much 
power,  the  infants  for  kindness,  the  crones  for  malice.  But 
it  is  especially  the  head  of  each  family  who  receives  the 
worship  of  his  kin."  *  The  Zulu  adores  his  father,  when 
he  is  a  chief,  above  all  others,  and  is  convinced  that  a  father 
remembering  his  love  for  his  children,  will  not  forget  them 
when  he  is  dead.  "  The  Zulu  follows  up  the  doctrine  of 
divine  ancestors  till  he  reaches  a  first  ancestor  of  man  and 
creator  of  the  world,  the  primeval  Unkulunkulu."  f 

So  great  is  the  number  of  instances  that  it  is  too  difficult 
to  choose  from  them.  The  fundamental  idea  is  always 
identical,  although  details  and  accessories  vary,  as  one  passes 
from  the  hardly  idealised  relatives  of  negro  tribes  and  goes 
progressively  to  the  "  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of  heaven 
and  earth  "  of  the  Nicene  Creed. 

The  conception  of  a  future  life  in  the  form  of  immortality 
or  some  kindred  state,  associated  with  the  conception  of 
many  gods  or  of  one  God,  has  been  developed  to  satisfy  the 
craving  for  life  and  to  combat  the  fear  of  death,  that  is  to 
say,  to  defeat  the  greatest  contradiction  in  the  constitution 
of  man.  I  must  now  inquire  how  far  the  different  religions 
have  been  successful  in  this  object. 

Many  primitive  races  have  absolute  faith  in  the  tenets 
of  their  religion,  and  believe  in  the  promise  of  life  beyond 
the  grave  as  in  a  certain  fact.  Thus  the  aborigines  of  the 
Fiji  islands  are  convinced  that  they  will  be  born  again,  in 
another  world,  in  the  exact  condition  in  which  they  leave 
this  life  ;  and  so  they  wish  to  die  before  being  afflicted 
with  any  infirmity.  As  it  is  very  difficult  to  reach  old  age 
without  being  the  victim  of  some  illness  or  infirmity,  when 
*  Ibid.  p.  us-  t  Ibid.  p.  1 1 6. 


152  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

a  man  feels  the  approach  of  age,  he  tells  his  children  that 
the  time  has  come  for  him  to  die.  If  he  himself  fails  to 
give  this  notice,  the  children  undertake  the  duty.  A  family 
council  is  called,  the  day  is  appointed,  and  the  grave  made 
ready.  The  old  man  is  allowed  to  choose  between  being 
strangled  and  being  buried  alive.  The  following  instance 
will  show  the  strength  of  a  belief  in  life  to  come.  Hunt, 
an  English  traveller,  quoted  by  Lubbock,  received  a  visit 
from  a  young  native  of  Fiji,  whose  purpose  was  to  give  an 
invitation  to  the  funeral  of  his  mother  which  was  to  take 
place  next  day.  Mr.  Hunt  accepted  the  invitation  and 
joined  the  procession,  but  as  he  was  surprised  to  see  no  dead 
body,  inquired  about  it  from  the  son.  The  son  pointed  out 
his  mother,  walking  in  the  procession  and  as  gay  and  ani- 
mated as  any  of  the  others.  Mr.  Hunt  stated  his  surprise, 
and  asked  why  he  had  been  deceived  by  being  told  that  the 
mother  was  dead,  when  she  was  plainly  as  much  alive  and 
as  well  as  any  one  else.  He  received  the  reply  that  the 
death  festival  was  about  to  be  celebrated  ;  that  presently 
they  would  bury  her  ;  that  she  was  old,  and  that  his  brother 
and  he,  thinking  that  she  had  lived  long  enough,  and  should 
be  put  to  death,  had  obtained  her  cheerful  consent. 

This  case  is  far  from  being  solitary,  because  many  villages 
have  been  described  as  containing  no  inhabitants  of  a  greater 
age  than  forty  years,  all  those  older  having  been  buried.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  understand  that  death  should  have  no 
terrors  for  persons  possessed  of  a  faith  as  strong  as  this. 
The  American  Indian,  according  to  Lubbock,  has  very  little 
fear  of  death.  He  does  not  fear  transference  to  a  realm 
in  which,  as  he  has  been  told  all  his  life,  there  is  no  sorrow 
and  abundance  of  joy. 

I  know  a  case  of  a  young  girl  of  the  Catholic  faith  who 
believed  so  firmly  in  the  joys  of  Paradise  that,  when  stricken 


RELIGIOUS    REMEDIES  153 

with  a  mortal  illness,  she  awaited  death  with  a  great  impa- 
tience. Before  she  died,  she  cried  out  that  "  already  she 
could  see  the  beautiful  flowers  and  hear  the  sweet  music  of 
the  birds  that  fill  heaven." 

But  it  is  rare  to  find  faith  so  strong  in  such  a  case.  More 
often  faith  is  not  strong  enough  to  subdue  the  fear  of  death, 
and  in  proof  of  this  I  may  recall  the  instance  of  the  clergy- 
man already  given.*  Stricken  with  an  incurable  disease, 
he,  in  spite  of  his  religion,  underwent  extreme  agony, 
and  could  not  reconcile  himself  to  the  idea  of  death.  The 
fear  of  death  showed  itself  so  strongly  in  this  case  that  I 
have  chosen  it  as  a  characteristic  instance  of  the  feeling. 

It  is  only  with  fanatics  and  simple  or  primitive  persons 
that  blind  faith  can  subdue  this  instinctive  fear.  For  this 
reason,  since  the  most  ancient  times,  religions  have  sought 
out  something  more  than  the  promise  of  paradise  to  mitigate 
this  chief  disharmony  of  our  nature.  In  this  connection 
the  doctrines  of  Buddha  are  those  most  interesting.  Here 
I  shall  not  deal  with  that  modified  and  transformed  Bud- 
dhism, in  which,  as  I  have  already  shown,  there  was  a  return 
to  the  doctrine  of  future  life,  with  its  hell  of  torments  and 
heaven  filled  with  delights, 

Buddha  made  no  reference  to  the  great  blot  on  human 
life.  His  doctrine,  in  its  original  form,  was  extremely 
pessimistic.  Take,  for  instance,  some  of  his  sayings  on  this 
subject  :  "  Miserable  in  truth  is  this  world,  in  which  there 
is  beginning,  birth,  growing  old,  death,  disappearance  and 
renewal.  But  we  know  not  how  to  escape  from  this  world, 
full  of  horror  though  it  be.  Alas,  because  of  old  age,  illness, 
death,  and  their  like,  we  know  not  who  shall  put  an  end 
to  this  world,  which  is  so  full  of  horror.  To  all  who  are, 
there  comes  old  age,  and  illness,  and  death,  and  their  like."  f 
*  See  p.  124.  |  The  "  Lalita  Vistara,"  p.  289. 


i54  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

When  the  Buddha  came  upon  the  sorrows  of  the  world, 
as  I  have  already  described  (p.  119),  he  reflected  as  follows  : 
"  Woe  upon  youth,  threatened  by  old  age  !  WToe  upon 
health,  which  so  many  maladies  destroy  !  Woe  upon  the 
life  of  man,  which  lasts  but  a  little  space  !  Woe  on  the 
temptations  of  the  flesh,  which  lure  the  heart  of  the  wise  ! 
Would  that  there  were  neither  old  age  nor  illness,  nor 
death  and  the  pains  of  death,  which  come  from  the  five 
elements  of  life  (Skandhas)  !  Would  that  there  were  neither 
old  age  nor  illness  nor  death,  which  are  for  ever  bound  up 
together  !  Nevertheless,  when  I  return  again  I  shall  con- 
sider deliverance."  * 

Having  pondered  for  many  days  on  these  problems, 
Buddha  thought  that  he  had  discovered  the  only  solution, 
and  taught  men  resignation.  When  a  man  was  young  he 
would  ask  of  his  father  :  "  Lord,  would  that  old  age  would 
never  come  upon  me,  and  that  I  should  keep  for  ever  the 
warm  colour  of  my  youth  ;  that  I  should  be  always  filled 
with  health,  and  that  no  disease  should  come  near  me  ;  that 
my  life  should  be  prolonged  for  ever,  and  that  death  should 
pass  me  by !  Such  an  one  later  on  must  learn  to  give  up 
these  longings."  f 

In  his  famous  "  Sermon  at  Benares,"  Buddha  gave  in 
brief  the  outlines  of  his  doctrines  in  the  following  words  : 
"  Hear,  oh  monks  !  the  holy  truth  of  the  springs  of  sorrow  ! 
Sorrow  is  born  of  lust  of  life,  that  drags  us  from  incarnation 
to  incarnation,  and  of  pleasure  and  desire,  which  seek  their 
fulfilment  hither  and  thither  ;  the  lust  of  pleasure,  the  lust 
of  life,  the  lust  of  power.  Hear,  oh  monks  !  the  holy  truth 
of  the  conquest  of  sorrow  ;  it  is  the  killing  of  this  lust  by 
the  utter  abandonment  of  desire,  the  giving  up  of  all  desire, 

*  The  "  Lalita  Vistara,"  p.   176. 
t  Ibid.  p.  170. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  155 

the  forgetting  of  all  desire,  the  freeing  of  the  body  of  all 
desire,  until  there  is  no  place  left  for  desire."  * 

In  such  a  spirit  of  resignation,  Buddha  became  himself 
a  monk,  and  lived  according  to  the  strict  rules  of  the  pure 
life  that  he  himself  had  laid  down  ("  the  belief  pure,  the  will 
pure,  the  language  pure,  the  deeds  pure,  the  means  of  live- 
lihood pure,  the  study  pure,  the  attention  pure,  the  medi- 
tation pure  ").  However,  he  did  not  find  many  kindred 
souls  to  follow  the  same  precepts.  Buddhism  soon  moved 
away  from  these  original  tenets,  and  became  a  religious 
doctrine  of  the  ordinary  kind. 

We  are  inclined  to  associate  with  Buddhism  the  doctrine 
of  Nirvana,  as  if  the  latter  were  the  goal  to  which  human 
life  should  be  directed.  Many  philosophers,  and  the  pes- 
simists chief  among  them,  naturally  with  Schopenhauer 
at  their  head,  have  adopted  Nirvana  as  the  goal  of  mankind, 
as  they  see  the  world.  However,  the  word  Nirvana  has 
had  many  interpretations  put  upon  it,  the  which  is  less 
surprising  as  Sanscrit  scholars  differ.  I  do  not  intend  to 
join  in  the  discussion,  as  I  myself  am  not  acquainted  with 
Sanscrit,  upon  which  the  argument  must  be  founded.  How- 
ever, I  cannot  pass  it  by  without  comment  on  the  pretext 
that  it  has  not  yet  been  settled  definitely  by  specialists, 
as  it  is  the  case  that  many  thinkers  regard  Nirvana  as  the 
goal  of  human  existence. 

For  long  Nirvana  was  represented  as  a  sort  of  blank,  in 
which  there  was  no  display  of  any  mental  operations.  Max 
Miiller,t  the  celebrated  Oxford  professor,  opposed  this 
interpretation  on  the  ground  that,  according  to  him,  in 
"  all  passages  of  Buddhistic  origin  in  which  Nirvana  occurs 
there  is  nothing  to  betoken  annihilation.  Most  of  these 
passages,  if  not  all  of  them,  would  be  quite  unintelligible 
*  Oldenburg,  p.  214..  f  "  Buddhagosas  Parables." 


156  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

if  we  were  to  replace  in  them  the  word  Nirvana  by  the  word 
annihilation." 

Many  other  specialists  share  this  view,  and  cannot  agree 
that  the  goal  of  human  life  was  to  be  annihilation,.  Rhys 
Davids,  for  instance,  thinks  that  Nirvana  is  to  be  interpreted 
as  a  tranquillity  of  the  soul,  possible  of  achievement  in  this 
life,  and  that  the  word  is  best  translated  by  the  term  "  sanc- 
tity." According  to  him,  Nirvana  does  not  mean  extinc- 
tion or  annihilation,  but  rather  freedom  from  the  great 
passions,  such  as  envy  and  hate.  Pfungst  *  agrees  with 
Max  Miiller  ;  he  is  convinced  that  the  first  adepts  of  Buddha 
could  not  have  conceived  of  Nirvana  as  extinction.  Dahl- 
mann  f  on  the  other  hand,  tries  to  prove  that  Nirvana 
in  its  primitive  signification  implied  the  abolition  of  the 
will  to  live,  and  really  corresponded  to  annihilation. 

I  must  add,  however,  that  Nirvana  did  not  occupy  a 
place  in  Buddhism  so  important  as  has  been  ascribed  to 
it  by  several  commentators.  In  many  of  the  Buddhist 
authorities  mention  of  Nirvana  is  only  accidental.  In  the 
"  Lalita  Vistara,"  for  instance,  the  word  occurs  very  seldom, 
and  then  only  in  unimportant  connections.  However,  the 
latter  document  contains  a  good  deal  that  serves  to  explain 
the  conception  of  Nirvana. 

When  the  young  Buddha,  still  very  exacting,  asked  his 
father  to  obtain  for  him  perpetual  youth,  health,  life  ever- 
lasting, and  freedom  from  death,  he  added  the  following 
words  :  "  Lord,  if  you  cannot  give  me  these  four  gifts,  at 
least  bring  it  about  that  after  this  life  I  shall  have  no  more 
metempsychoses."  J 

As  I  have  already  stated,  Buddhism  had  embraced  the 

*  "  Das  Freie  Wort,"  pp.  603-607,  Jan.  5,  1902, 
t  "  Nirvina,"  Berlin,   1896. 
J  "Lalita  Vistara,"  p.   176. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  157 

Brahmanistic  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  souls.  Accord- 
ing to  the  legend,  before  his  birth  as  a  prince,  the  Buddha 
had  passed  hundreds  of  earlier  existences.  His  soul  had 
been  the  soul  not  only  of  fifty-eight  kings,  but  of  eighteen 
monkeys,  four  horses,  four  snakes,  three  lizards,  two  fish, 
and  of  other  creatures.*  Such  continual  transferences  of  the 
soul  to  so  many  different  animals  was  a  source  of  perplexity 
and  sorrow  to  believers.  It  was  natural  that  a  great  thinker 
like  Buddha  should  have  conceived  the  desire  of  sparing 
himself  and  his  faithful  followers  so  many  transmigrations. 
He  thought  of  these  rebirths  as  a  great  evil,  from  which  a 
pure  life  might  set  one  free. 

In  the  poetical  language  of  the  Hindoo  Buddhists,  metem- 
psychosis was  compared  to  the  ocean  ;  the  waves  that  change 
from  moment  to  moment  were  the  continual  rebirths  ;  our 
temporary  body  was  the  foam  of  the  crests  of  the  waves, 
while  Nirvana  was  the  opposite  shore.  He  who  reaches 
Nirvana  would  never  again  plunge  into  the  great  sea  of 
Sangsara.  In  a  passage  quoted  by  Rhys  Davids,  and 
ascribed  to  Kama  Sutta,  it  is  stated  expressly  that  "  the 
sea  is  an  image  of  the  Sangsara  or  transmigrations,  while 
Nirvana  is  an  island  upon  it.  Once  the  shores  have  been 
reached,  a  soul  will  no  longer  be  plunged  in  the  waves  of 
the  ocean,  and  will  be  freed  from  the  successive  births  of 
metempsychosis." 

In  other  words,  to  avoid  being  tormented  after  death  by 
perpetual  rebirths,  some  of  which  may  be  humiliating,  it 
is  necessary  to  live  a  pure  life  and  so  to  secure  repose  or 
Nirvana.  Nirvana  is  by  no  means  the  cessation  of  all  con- 
sciousness, but  merely  the  end  of  transmigrations.  From 
such  a  point  of  view,  it  is  possible  to  interpret  all,  or  at  least 
nearly  all,  the  passages  in  which  Nirvana  is  spoken  of. 

*  Spence  Hardy,  "A  Manual  of  Buddhism,"  p.  too,  London,  1853. 


158  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

When  he  was  old  and  full  of  disease  and  afflicted  with 
grievous  pain,  Buddha,  being  at  the  point  of  death,  thought 
of  his  disciples  and  called  them  to  him  and  said  :  "  It  is  not 
meet  that  I  should  enter  Nirvana  without  having  spoken 
with  those  who  have  cared  for  me,  without  speaking  to  the 
community  of  disciples.  By  the  force  of  my  will  I  shal 
subdue  this  disease  and  hold  the  life  within  me."  Some 
time  afterwards,  the  reverend  Ananda  went  to  Buddha 
and  spoke  to  him,  saying  amongst  other  words  as  follows  : 
"  The  Sublime  One  will  surely  not  enter  into  Nirvana  ere 
he  has  made  known  unto  the  community  of  disciples  his 
wishes  regarding  them."  "  Growing  more  and  more  feeble, 
the  spirit  of  Buddha  passed  from  ecstacy  to  ecstacy  without 
ceasing,  and  knew  every  delight ;  then  he  entered  into 
Nirvana.  And  the  earth  trembled,  and  thunder  rolled 
across  the  skies."  * 

It  is  clear  that  in  this  passage  Nirvana  was  associated 
with  death.  But  it  was  with  the  death  of  a  saint  who  had 
lived  a  pure  life.  Metempsychosis  would  not  be  inflicted 
on  him,  and  he  would  enjoy  repose.  It  is  probable  that 
the  term  Nirvana  later  on  came  to  be  applied  to  the  state 
of  mind  of  a  saint  who,  by  living  the  pure  life,  would  avoid 
transmigration  after  death. 

As  the  importance  of  Nirvana  lies  in  its  contrast  with 
metempsychosis,  it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  precise  state  of 
mind  involved  in  it  has  not  been  described  exactly.  How- 
ever, a  survey  of  the  Buddhistic  writings  makes  it  plain 
that  at  least  Nirvana  was  not  associated  with  annihilation. 
In  this  respect  Max  Miiller's  verdict  must  be  taken  as  correct. 

Buddha's  attempt  to  remedy  the  ills  of  human  life,  then, 
lay  in  a  complete  renunciation  of  all  the  joys  and  pleasures 
of  life,  and  in  perfect  resignation.  The  mere  fact  that 
*  Oldenburg,  loc.  cit.  pp.  200-206. 


RELIGIOUS  REMEDIES  159 

primitive  Buddhism  did  not  persist,  but  rapidly  passed  into 
an  ordinary  religion,  is  sufficient  proof  that  Buddha  did  not 
achieve  his  purpose.  It  was  the  promise  of  a  life  to  come 
that  attracted  so  many  men  and  spread  Buddhism  over 
so  large  a  part  of  the  earth.  However,  this  faith  has  been 
able  to  maintain  itself  only  in  certain  strata  of  society  to 
which  the  rationalistic  conception  of  the  mental  processes 
has  not  penetrated.  Since  the  awakening  of  the  scientific 
spirit  in  Europe,  it  has  been  recognised  that  the  promise 
of  a  future  life  has  no  basis  of  fact  to  support  it.  The  modern 
study  of  the  functions  of  the  mind  has  shown  beyond  all 
question  that  these  are  dependent  on  the  functions  of  the 
body,  in  particular  of  those  of  the  central  nervous  system.  A 
slight  lowering  of  the  rate  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  a 
fleeting  anaemia  of  the  brain,  at  once  arrests  consciousness, 
that  is  to  say,  the  fundamental  sensation  of  the  individual 
mental  life.  Anaesthetics,  used  in  doses  so  small  that  they 
do  not  influence  certain  parts  of  the  nervous  system,  as,  for 
instance,  those  that  control  the  heart  and  lungs,  completely 
abolish  consciousness.  Persons  who  are  put  under  chloro- 
form for  surgical  purposes  fall  into  a  state  of  absolute  uncon- 
sciousness. Sometimes,  after  undergoing  painful  sensations, 
especially  sensations  of  oppression,  the  patients  imagine 
themselves  to  be  in  rapid  motion,  and  in  a  few  moments 
have  the  sensation  of  falling  into  an  immense  gulf,  after 
which  comes  nothingness,  the  annihilation  of  sensations  and 
of  consciousness.  In  other  cases,  patients,  without  any 
sensation  of  catastrophe,  lose  all  idea  of  reality,  and  every 
psychic  and  'sensorial  function  is  abolished.  Such  states 
are  very  closely  similar  to  death,  which  indeed  is  the  result, 
in  certain  rare  instances,  of  the  ordinary  process  of  being 
chloroformed. 

Neither  the  narcosis  produced  by  chloroform  nor  that 


160  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

produced  by  any  other  form  of  anaesthetic,  affords  any 
particle  of  ground  for  the  view  that  there  is  consciousness 
in  any  form  apart  from  the  body.  The  action  of  morphine 
sometimes  brings  about  a  strange  current  of  happiness  and 
an  apparent  weightlessness  of  the  body  ;  but  here  again 
there  is  no  suspicion  given  as  to  the  existence  of  any  mental 
phenomena  apart  from  the  body. 

Consciousness  of  personality  is  of  supreme  interest 
from  the  point  of  view  of  personal  immortality,  and  this 
mental  phenomenon  develops  only  slowly  and  progressively 
in  an  infant.  This  fact,  again,  like  the  facts  of  narcosis, 
shows  the  dependence  of  consciousness  on  the  action  of  the 
bodily  organs.  Just  as  our  consciousness  comes  out  of 
nothing  in  the  first  months,  or  years,  of  our  life,  so  it  will 
pass  into  nothing  at  the  end  of  our  life. 

Mental  disease  confirms  this  conclusion,  and  it,  too,  gives 
no  ground  for  the  belief  in  a  survival  of  the  mind  after 
death. 

Certain  internal  sensibilities  in  the  depths  of  our  organism 
survive  our  personal  consciousness.  When  the  heart  has 
ceased  to  beat,  and  when  the  anaemic  brain  is  certainly 
incapable  of  personal  consciousness,  some  portions  of  the 
body  may  still  retain  vitality.  The  muscular  fibres  are  still 
able  to  contract  when  they  are  stimulated,  and  the  white 
corpuscles  of  the  blood  can  still  exhibit  their  specific  move- 
ments. It  is  certain,  moreover,  that  these  white  corpuscles 
possess  a  specific  sensibility,  and,  by  a  sort  of  sense  of  taste, 
respond  to  the  kind  of  environment  that  surrounds  them. 
Our  consciousness,  however,  is  absolutely  out  of  touch  with 
the  sensations  of  these  globules, '  which,  however,  none  the 
less  are  part  of  our  organism.  It  happens,  therefore,  that 
in  certain  diseases,  the  white  corpuscles,  stimulated  by 
the  presence  of  particular  substances,  perform  extensive 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  161 

movements  of  migration  within  our  bodies.  Such  migration 
is  quite  outside  the  sphere  of  consciousness.  The  corpuscles, 
directed  by  their  sensibility,  are  in  constant  pursuit  ot 
microbes  that  have  entered  the  body,  and  yet  these  actions, 
too,  are  not  made  known  to  our  consciousness.  In  the  same 
fashion,  the  thousands  of  active  spermatozoa  in  the  male 
organs  and  the  ova  in  the  female  possess  specific  sensi- 
bility. These  reproductive  elements  contain  the  germ  of 
individual  consciousness,  but  it  is  not  until  they  have 
developed  into  the  new  generation  that  it  is  possible  to 
impute  to  them  individual  consciousness,  and  the  organism 
that  shelters  them  has  no  idea  of  what  it  harbours.  The 
sensibility  of  the  white  corpuscles  and  of  the  many  other 
cells  composing  our  body,  although  certainly  a  reality,  has 
no  part  in  the  absolutely  special  sensation  that  we  call  indi- 
vidual consciousness,  and  which  is  all  we  think  of  in  wishing 
to  escape  death. 

The  idea  of  a  future  life  is  supported  by  not  a  single  fact, 
while  there  is  much  evidence  against  it.  The  phenomenon 
of  intercommunication  across  a  distance,  sometimes  called 
telepathy,  may  be  actual,  but  affords  no  support  to  the 
conception  of  the  existence  of  souls  apart  from  bodies.  It 
may  be  that  emanations  are  given  off  by  certain  organs, 
and  that  these  are  capable  of  being  appreciated  by  the  organs 
of  another  body  at  a  distance ;  but,  even  if  such  were  the 
case,  we  should  have  to  deal  simply  with  other  bodily 
functions.  Moreover,  the  supposed  phenomena  that  fall 
within  this  category  are  so  rare,  so  difficult  to  observe,  and 
so  obscure,  that  no  certain  argument  for  the  continuance 
of  existence  after  death  can  be  deduced  from  them. 

It  is  easy  to  see  why  the  advance  of  knowledge  has 
diminished  the  number  of  believers  in  the  persistence  of 
consciousness  after  death,  and  that  complete  annihilation 


1 62  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

at  death  is  the  conception  accepted  by  the  vast  majority 
of  enlightened  persons. 

Apart  from  their  chief  function  of  consoling  men  for  the 
inevitability  of  death,  religions  have  concerned  themselves 
with  some  of  the  results  of  other  disharmonies  of  the  human 
constitution.  From  time  immemorial  they  have  claimed 
the  direction  of  diet,  the  control  of  the  reproductive  functions, 
and  the  prevention  or  cure  of  all  kinds  of  disease. 

The  dietary  regulations  given  by  the  religions  are  familiar. 
Even  at  the  present  day,  the  cookery  of  many  raqes  is 
regulated  by  their  religion.  The  Jewish  diet,  notably,  is 
regulated  by  the  Mosaic  law,  down  to  the  most  minute 
detail.  For  instance,  it  was  forbidden  to .  eat  the  blood 
of  animals.  Moses  commanded  :  "  Notwithstanding,  thou 
mayest  kill  and  eat  flesh  in  all  thy  gates,  whatsoever  thy 
soul  lusteth  after,  according  to  the  blessing  of  the  Lord 
thy  God,  which  he  hath  given  thee  ;  the  unclean  and  the 
clean  may  eat  thereof,  as  of  the  roebuck',  and  as  of  the 
hart.  Only  ye  shall  not  eat  the  blood  ;  ye  shall  pour  it 
on  the  earth  as  water."  *  Later  on :  "  Only  be  sure 
that  thou  eat  not  the  blood  ;  for  the  blood  is  the  life  ; 
and  thou  mayest  not  eat  the  life  with  the  flesh."  f  "  Thou 
shalt  not  eat  it,  that  it  may  go  well  with  thee,  and 
with  thy  children  after  thee,  when  thou  shalt  do  that  which 
is  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord."  J  The  Books  of  Moses 
also  contain  receipts  for  the  cooking  of  certain  meats. 
"  Eat  not  of  it  raw,  nor  sodden  at  all  with  water,  but  roast 
with  fire,  his  head  with  his  legs,  and  with  the  purtenance 
thereof."  § 

It  has  been  suggested  that  these  rules  were  founded  on 
ideas  of  hygiene  in  consonance  with  the  results  of  modern 

*  Deuteronomy  xii.  15,  16.  f  Ibid.  23 

J  Ibid.  25.  §  Exodus  xii.  9. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  163 

science.  Some  of  them,  it  is  true,  such  as  the  prohibition 
of  uncooked  or  partially  cooked  meat,  are  confirmed  by  our 
modern  knowledge.  But  the  greater  number  of  the  Mosaic 
rules,  as,  for  instance,  the  prohibition  of  the  consumption 
as  food  of  blood  or  the  flesh  of  pigs  or  hares  and  so  forth, 
are  in  direct  opposition  to  a  modern  knowledge  of  hygienic 
diet.  Religious  cookery  has  no  more  than  a  historical 
interest. 

The  religions  have  been  greatly  occupied  with  the  func- 
tions of  the  reproductive  organs.  Most  of  the  founders  of 
"he  great  faiths  have  paid  a  keen  attention  to  the  dishar- 
monies of  this  side  of  our  constitution.  They  became  per- 
suaded of  the  merit  of  abstention,  which  they  practised 
themselves  and  preached  to  others.  Buddha,  after  devoting 
his  youth  to  all  the  pleasures  and  not  being  satisfied,  passed 
to  absolute  asceticism.  He  and  his  adepts  formed  an  order 
of  monkhood,  on  which  an  absolute  celibacy  was  imposed. 
If  a  member  of  the  order  had  intercourse  with  a  woman,  he 
was  considered  to  be  as  guilty  as  a  murderer  or  a  thief.  In 
the  Buddhist  rules  framed  even  for  laymen,  "  sexual  inter- 
course outside  marriage  was  forbidden,  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  degrading."  * 

The  views  of  the  Christian  religion  on  sexual  matters  are 
well  known.  The  leaders  of  Christianity  abstained  from 
sexual  intercourse  and  recommended  their  conduct  to  others. 
St.  Paul  more  than  once  affirmed  his  own  continence. 
"  For  I  would  that  all  men  were  even  as  I  myself ;  but 
every  man  hath  his  proper  gift  of  God,  one  after  this  manner, 
and  another  after  that.  I  say  therefore,  to  the  unmarried 
and  widows,  It  is  good  for  them  if  they  abide  even  as  I ;  but 
if  they  cannot  contain,  let  them  marry,  for  it  is  better  to 
marry  than  to  burn."  f 

*  Rhys  Davids.  f  Corinthians  vii.  7-9. 


1 64  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

The  religions  of  savage  races  are  equally  concerned  with 
the  reproductive  functions.  There  are  many  extremel}' 
strange  facts  known  concerning  this  matter,  and  among 
such  I  may  mention  that  the  Sandwich  Islanders  have  a 
deity  who  presides  at  abortions.  This  god  is  made  in  the 
form  of  an  elongated  wooden  instrument,  and  is  known  as 
"  Kapo."  The  upper  part  of  the  deity  is  shaped  into  a 
grotesque  head,  while  the  lower  portion  terminates  in  a 
point  and  serves  to  induce  abortion  by  entering  the  uterus 
and  rupturing  the  foetal  membranes.* 

Many  other  idols  are  used  by  savages  as  protections 
against  disease.  Ploss-Bartels,|  in  his  treatise  on  "Medicine 
among  Primitive  Races,"  has  described  a  large  collection  of 
talismans  of  this  kind.  The  ruling  idea  in  the  manufacture 
of  these  is  that  diseases  are  due  to  the  presence  of  evil  spirits, 
who  are  to  be  scared  away  as  soon  as  possible.  The  Goldi 
of  Siberia  construct  straw  or  wooden  figures  of  men  and 
animals  to  absorb  the  spirits  of  diseases.  The  Guilaks 
make  wooden  human  figures,  on  the  breasts  of  which  are 
fashioned  images  of  toads.  These  talismans  are  used  as 
remedies  for  diseases  of  the  chest  and  stomach. 

In  higher  forms  of  religion  there  remain  abundant  traces 
of  such  notions.  Even  Martin  Luther  declared  that  disease 
was  supernatural  in  origin.  "  Behold  a  matter  on  which 
there  is  no  room  for  doubt,"  he  stated,  "  and  that  is  that 
the  plague,  fevers,  and  other  diseases  are  the  work  of  the 
devil."  A  number  of  religious  ceremonies  were  specified 
as  the  best  remedies  for  diseases. 

The  plague  has  left  many  deep  marks  on  human  history, 
and  it  is  natural  that  a  malady  so  terrible  should  have 
attracted  serious  attention.  It  was  usually  attributed  to 

*  Ploss-Bartels,   "  Das  Weib,"  vol.  I.,  p.  859. 

f  "Die  Medecin  der  Naturvolker,"  p.  225,  Leipzig,  1893. 


RELIGIOUS   REMEDIES  165 

divine  wrath,  which  was  to  be  appeased  by  purification  and 
sacrifice.  Human  beings  were  slain  on  altars  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  God  and  to  lessen  the  mortality  from  plague. 

Such  religious  customs  have  disappeared  almost  com- 
pletely with  the  advancing  culture  of  man,  but  traces  of 
them  survive  and  become  apparent  on  occasions.  Quite 
recently,  when  the  King  of  England,  Edward  VII.,  was 
afflicted  with  an  abdominal  suppuration,  he  was  given  the 
assistance  of  the  most  highly  skilled  modern  surgery,  but 
at  the  same  time  special  services  were  held  in  the  churches 
to  aid  the  cure  of  the  royal  invalid. 

Every  one  has  now  come  to  regard  such  events  as  mere 
relics  of  old  customs  without  intrinsic  importance.  Hygiene 
in  the  kitchen  and  the  prevention  of  disease  are  no  longer 
under  the  control  of  religion,  but  are  regulated  on  scientific 
knowledge  obtained  by  the  experimental  method.  I  need 
pay  no  further  attention  to  these  matters.  However,  reli- 
gion is  still  occupied  with  the  problem  of  death.  The 
solutions  which  as  yet  it  has  offered  cannot  be  regarded  as 
satisfactory.  A  future  life  has  no  single  argument  to  support 
it,  and  the  non-existence  of  life  after  death  is  in  consonance 
with  the  whole  range  of  human  knowledge.  On  the  other 
hand,  resignation  as  preached  by  Buddha  will  fail  to  satisfy 
humanity,  which  has  a  longing  for  life,  and  is  overcome  by 
the  thought  of  the  inevitability  of  death. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  in  such  a  state  of  affairs  philo- 
sophers would  have  sought  an  issue  from  the  dilemma. 
Certainly  many  philosophical  theories  have  been  propounded 
to  explain  life  and  death.  As  the  subject  is  of  extreme 
importance  I  shall  reserve  a  chapter  for  it. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ATTEMPTS  IN  SYSTEMS  OF  PHILOSOPHY  TO  REMEDY 
THE  ILLS  ARISING  FROM  THE  DISHARMONIES  OF 
THE  HUMAN  CONSTITUTION 

Some  philosophical  systems  "are  in  intimate  union  with 
religions — Ideas  of  ancient  philosophers  on  the  immortality 
of  the  soul — The  teaching  of  Plato — The  scepticism  of 
Aristotle — The  Stoics — Cicero,  Seneca,  Marcus  Aurelius — 
Modern  philosophical  systems — Pessimism  and  its  origin — 
Lord  Byron — Theories  of  Schopenhauer  and  Hartmann — 
Mailaender's  philosophy  of  deliverance — Criticisms  of 
pessimism — Max  Nordau — Ideas  of  modern  thinkers  on 
death 

SYSTEMS  of  philosophy  are  closely  attached  to  religious 
doctrine.  Buddhism,  for  instance,  originated  in  a  philo- 
sophic theory  which  acquired  a  religious  character  in  the 
hands  of  the  followers  of  Buddha.  Similarly,  many  systems 
of  philosophy  are  merely  religious  dogmas  which  it  has 
been  attempted  to  support  by  rational  argument  apart 
from  supernatural  revelation. 

The  idea  of  life  beyond  the  grave  has  long  since  furnished 
one  of  the  principal  bases  of  various  philosophic  doctrines, 
the  ultimate  object  of  which  was  to  solve  the  problem  of 
death.  Ancient  philosophy  is  full  of  such.  Plato  describes 
the  tragic  death  of  his  master  Socrates,  and  in  connection 
with  it  expresses  very  clearly  his  ideas  upon  death.  He  puts 
these  words  in  the  mouth  of  Socrates  in  the  "  Phaedo  " :  "Fa 
from  being  depressed  by  the  death  of  a  friend,  I  felt,  on  the 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  167 

contrary,  that  he  was  to  be  envied  ;  as  I  witnessed  his 
attitude,  and  listened  to  his  words,  and  noticed  the  courage 
with  which  he  faced  death,  I  became  convinced  that  he  did 
not  quit  this  life  without  some  divine  support  that  drew 
him  towards  another  world  in  which  he  would  find  the  most 
perfect  happiness  man  could  wish." 

Plato  attributes  to  Socrates  a  very  definite  view  as  to 
future  retribution  :  "  In  truth,"  said  Socrates,  "  if  I  did  not 
expect  to  find  in  another  life  gods  at  once  good  and  wise, 
and  men  better  than  those  of  this  life,  it  would  be  foolish  of 
me  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  approach  of  death.  But  I 
know  that  I  look  to  finding  myself  among  just  men.  I  do 
not  fear  to  die,  because  I  am  confident  that  something  still 
remains  after  this  life,  and  that,  according  to  the  old  belief, 
the  good  will  be  treated  better  than  the  bad." 

As  such  views  were  not  derived  from  a  body  of  revealed 
truth,  it  was  necessary  to  support  them  by  reasoning. 
Plato  therefore  went  on  to  try  to  convince  us  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  by  speculative  hypotheses.  He  recalled 
the  Pythagorean  doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  and  sug- 
gested that  the  souls  who  had  abandoned  themselves  to 
injustice,  tyranny,  and  plunder  would  pass  into  the  bodies  of 
wolves  and  hawks  and  falcons,  for  souls  of  that  nature 
could  not  go  elsewhere ;  while  the  souls  of  those  who  had 
practised  the  social  and  civic  virtues  known  as  temperance 
or  justice,  would  inhabit  the  bodies  of  peaceful  and  gentle 
creatures  such  as  bees  and  ants,  or  would  even  enter  other 
human  bodies  and  again  become  good  men. 

Plato  referred  also  to  the  law  of  contrasts  in  support 
of  his  theory.  "  As  the  most  strong  often  springs  from 
the  feeblest,  or  the  most  swift  from  the  slow,  so  life  gives 
rise  to  death,  and  from  death  life  springs."  "  From  that 
which  is  dead,"  said  Socrates,  "  is  born  all  that  lives  and 


168  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

has  life.  And  so  our  souls  after  death  pass  to  the  infernal 
regions."  "  As  we  must  grant  that  the  dead  are  born  from  the 
living  as  much  as  the  living  from  the  dead,  it  is  plain  that 
the  souls  of  dead  men  exist  somewhere,  whence  they  may 
return  to  life." 

By  such  arguments  Plato  tried  to  prove  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  the  fundamental  basis  of  his  philosophy,  and 
put  them  in  the  mouth  of  his  master  Socrates  on  his  death- 
bed. In  the  dialogue  he  tried  to  refute  all  kinds  of  objec- 
tions. But,  in  spite  of  the  assurance  with  which  he  for- 
mulated his  doctrine,  there  may  be  seen  underlying  the 
argument  a  note  of  doubt,  and  it  is  just  this  that  distin- 
guishes philosophy  from  religion. 

It  is  evident. that  the  whole  of  Plato's  system  was  the 
result  of  an  effort  to  solve  the  problem  of  death.  Again 
and  again  he  said  that  the  true  philosopher  lived  only  to 
be  ready  to  die  ;  that  being  so,  he  declared  it  to  be  childish 
for  men  at  the  last  to  shrink  from  what  they  had  so  long 
been  making  ready  for.  It  was  himself  that  Plato  wished 
to  convince  of  a  future  life.  "  I  do  not  seek,"  he  said,  "  to 
persuade  all  those  who  are  here  of  the  truth  of  what  I  say, 
although  to  do  so  would  greatly  please  me  ;  what  I  aim  at 
is  to  convince  myself.  Behold  me,  dear  friend,  in  pursuit 
of  an  argument  that,  as  you  see,  interests  me  deeply  ;  if 
what  I  say  turns  out  to  be  true,  it  is  good  to  have  believed 
it,  and  if  there  be  nothing  after  death,  at  least  I  have  gained 
this,  that  while  I  am  still  with  you,  I  am  not  borne  down 
with  grief." 

The  doubt  which  was  only  latent  in  Plato  was  much 
more  active  in  some  other  ancient  philosophers.  Aristotle  * 
at  one  time  admitted  that  part  of  the  soul  was  immortal, 

*  Zeller,  "  Die  Philosophic  der  Griechen,"  vol.  II.,  Part  2,  pp.  462, 
465.  Tubingen,  1862. 


PHILOSOPHICAL    REMEDIES  169 

but  that  the  other  part  was  mortal.  The  two  parts  came 
together  at  the  beginning  of  a  life  and  separated  at  its 
end.  Later  on,  however,  Aristotle  abandoned  this  theory 
of  the  immortality  of  the  personal  consciousness,  and  argued 
strongly  against  the  Platonic  theory  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  although,  however,  he  still  believed  in  the  inde- 
structibility of  the  "  rational  spirit,"  an  immortal  principle. 

The  Stoics  still  further  developed  such  a  conception. 
They  held  that  besides  the  individual  soul  there  was  a 
universal  soul,  a  presiding  influence  in  which  all  others  had 
their  being. 

Cicero,  again,  discussing  old  age  and  death,  tried  to  esta- 
blish belief  in  a  future  life.  "  I  am  convinced,"  said  Cicero 
to  Scipio  and  Laelius,  "  that  your  illustrious  fathers,  who 
were  so  dear  to  me,  are  still  full  of  life,  and  of  the  only  life 
worthy  of  the  name  ;  for  the  body  is,  as  it  were,  our  prison- 
house,  within  which  we  must  accomplish  the  tasks  laid  on  us 
by  necessity.  When  I  think  of  the  activity  of  the  human 
spirit,  its  vast  memory,  its  prevision,  its  store  of  art  and 
knowledge,  and  experience,  I  am  convinced  in  the  depths 
of  my  being  that  an  existence  with  such  qualities  cannot 
be  mortal.  The  soul  is  continually  active,  and  its  activity 
comes  not  to  it  from  without  ;  the  soul  is  a  self-supporting 
activity,  and  cannot  come  to  an  end.  Moreover,  as  the 
soul  is  a  simple  substance,  unalloyed  by  any  mixture  of 
materials,  it  can  neither  be  divided  nor  made  to  perish." 
By  such  arguments  Cicero  sought  to  prove  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul.  "  I  will  tell  you,"  he  said,  "  why  old  age, 
so  far  from  being  grievous  to  me,  is  full  of  delight."  But 
in  the  end,  he  himself  saw  the  weakness  of  his  proof,  and 
the  note  of  scepticism  appeared  in  him  more  strongly  than 
in  his  predecessors,  so  that  he  came  to  say  as  follows  : 
"  If  I  am  deceived  as  to  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  I  am 


i  yo  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

deceived  gladly,  and  I  would  not  have  the  belief  torn  from 
me  while  I  live.  If,  when  I  am  dead,  all  feeling  is  arrested 
within  me,  as  some  pretended  philosophers  hold,  at  least 
I  have  not  to  fear  that  after  my  death  they  will  come  and 
mock  me  for  my  error." 

Scepticism  becoming  more  and  more  definite,  belief  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  persisted  only  in  the  purely 
religious  form.  Philosophical  systems  freed  themselves  of 
it,  and  replaced  it  by  a  vague  form  of  pantheism. 

Seneca  tried  to  support  the  thesis  of  immortality,  but 
one  gets  the  impression  strongly  that  there  was  no  vigour 
in  his  belief.  He  is  content  with  poetry  rather  than  with 
reason.  "  The  events  of  this  mortal  life,"  he  wrote  in  one 
of  his  celebrated  "  Letters,"  "  are  the  mere  prelude  of  a 
better  and  more  lasting  existence.  As  our  mother's  womb, 
bearing  us  for  nine  months,  shapes  us  not  to  live  there  for 
ever,  but  for  our  place  in  this  world  in  which  it  places  us, 
with  the  strength  to  breathe  this  air  and  to  withstand  sur- 
rounding things :  so,  also,  the  time  that  passes  from  our 
infancy  to  our  old  age  is  a  preparation  for  a  second  birth. 
Another  beginning  and  another  world  await  us.  Until 
then,  we  could  not  endure,  save  from  afar,  the  splendour 
of  the  heavens.  Learn  then,  O  man,  to  face  without  a 
shudder  the  decisive  hour,  the  last  hour  of  the  body,  but  not 
of  the  soul.  What  you  see  around  you  consider  but  as 
the  furniture  of  an  inn;  soon  you  are  going  further  on. 
The  day  that  you  dread  as  your  last  day  is  your  birthday  " 
into  immortality." 

In  the  midst  of  these  glowing  visions,  however,  Seneca 
is  assailed  by  dark  and  gloomy  thoughts.  "  Yes,"  he  cried, 
"  all  that  is  must  perish  ;  death  comes  to  every  living  thing. 
Every  day,  every  hour,  reveals  to  man  the  coming  of  death  ; 
there  is  always  some  new  lesson  to  remind  him  of  the  fragility 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  171 

he  had  forgotten,  and  from  a  dream  of  eternity  to  turn 
his  thoughts  to  the  grave." 

These  heights  and  depths  of  spirit  led  Seneca  towards  a 
new  theory  in  which  he  gave  a  final  expression  of  his  views 
on  the  great  problem  of  human  existence.  "  All  beings 
pass  through  definite  stages  ;  they  must  be  born,  grow  and 
die.  The  stars  that  we  see  revolving  above  us,  the  earth 
on  which  we  are  carelessly  scattered  and  which  seems  to  us 
so  solid  ;  all  is  threatened  and  all  will  come  to  an  end. 
Old  age  comes  on  everything  ;  although  the  period  is  very 
different,  the  same  end  comes  to  everything.  Everything 
that  now  is  will  cease  to  be  ;  but  for  all  that  the  world  will 
not  perish  ;  it  will  dissolve.  Dissolution  is  destruction  for 
us.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  think  of  things  only  as  they 
concern  ourselves  ;  our  degenerate  soul,  incapable  of  detach- 
ing itself  from  the  body,  sees  nothing  beyond  that  ;  none 
the  less  we  should  endure  the  idea  of  the  death  of  ourselves 
and  of  those  near  to  us  with  a  greater  fortitude  were  we  to 
realise  that  nature  is  a  constant  routine  of  birth  and  death, 
that  all  composite  bodies  must  dissolve,  that  the  dissolved 
substances  re-form,  and  that  the  creative  power  of  God 
displays  itself  in  this  cycle  of  change  throughout  the  uni- 
verse." From  such  a  final  conception  of  the  universe  he 
draws  the  consolation  :  "A  great  soul  should  know  how 
to  obey  God  and  submit  willingly  to  the  order  of  the  uni- 
verse. If  it  be  not  for  a  better  life  that  we  are  to  quit  this 
life,  if  not  to  find  a  home  in  the  skies  more  tranquil  and 
more  brilliant,  our  souls,  free  from  suffering,  will  return  to  the 
spirit  that  gave  them  birth  and  will  mingle  in  the  great  all." 

In  other  words,  abandoning  the  image  of  life  after  death 
that  played  so  consoling  a  part  in  primitive  beliefs,  philo- 
sophy became  content  to  advocate  resignation  to  the 
inevitable  laws  of  nature,  and  to  console  itself  with  the 


172  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

promise  of  a  vague  return  to  some  universal,  eternal 
principle. 

The  conceptions  of  the  Stoics,  especially  in  the  form 
presented  by  Seneca,  found  an  ardent  and  brilliant  exponent 
in  Marcus  Aurelius,  whose  "  Thoughts  "  are  known  to  all 
the  world.  He  had  much  to  say  of  the  problem  of  death 
and  of  the  attitude  of  the  philosopher  towards  it.  "  Death," 
said  Marcus  Aurelius,  "  like  birth,  is  one  of  nature's  mys- 
teries. In  the  two  are  present  the  same  elements :  in  the 
one  case  in  the  phase  of  combination,  in  the  other  in  that  of 
dissolution."  In  death  "  there  is  nothing  repugnant  to  the 
essence  of  an  intelligent  being,  nor  to  the  general  plan  of 
our  nature."  But  his  ideas  on  death  were  vague.  "  Death 
may  perhaps  be  a  dispersal  or  resolution  into  atoms,  or 
an  annihilation  in  the  sense  of  extinction  or  deplacement." 
"  Alexander  of  Macedon  and  his  mule-driver  were  reduced 
at  death  to  the  same  condition,  that  is  to  say  they  returned 
alike  to  the  originating  principle  of  the  iiniverse,  or  one  and 
and  the  other  were  scattered  as  atoms." 

Although  he  was  definitely  a  deist,  Marcus  Aurelius  was 
undecided  as  to  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  "  If  souls  have 
not  disappeared,"  he  said,  "  how  can  the  air  contain  the 
eternal  generations  of  them  ?  "  "  Remember  well,"  he 
said  in  another  place,  "  that  that  feeble  and  composite 
creature,  your  soul,  will  one  day  resolve  into  its  atoms  ; 
the  faint  spark  of  life  will  be  extinguished,  or  be  assigned 
to  some  other  dwelling-place."  Clearly  enough,  there  was 
no  consoling  hope  of  a  future  life  to  be  derived  from  these 
halting  dubieties.  It  was  needful  to  replace  by  some  other 
anodyne  the  belief  that  for  so  long  had  brought  comfort 
to  poor  humanity. 

Marcus  Aurelius  tried  to  counteract  the  fear  of  death 
by  the  following  reflection  :  "To  fear  death  is  to  fear  either 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  173 

being  deprived  of  all  feeling  or  being  subjected  to  some  other 
kind  of  feeling.  But,  if  we  are  deprived  of  all  feeling,  we 
shall  have  no  evil  td  fear  •  if  we  are  to  find  new  kinds  of 
sensations,  our  existence  will  be  different,  but  still  existence." 
However,  he  probably  realised  the  weakness  of  such  a 
consolation,  for  he  tried  to  link  the  problem  of  death  with 
the  general  principles  of  human  conduct. 

As  I  mentioned  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  volume,  Marcus 
Aurelius,  like  many  of  the  philosophers  of  antiquity,  held 
the  view  that  man  ought  to  live  according  to  the  dictates 
of  human  nature.  The  theory  recurs  again  and  again 
in  his  "  Thoughts."  "  The  fig  tree  lives  according  to  its 
kind,  the  dog  like  the  dog,  bees  like  bees,  and  man  like 
man."  He  expresses  this  view  still  more  emphatically  in 
the  following  words  :  "  Man  must  live  in  conformity  with 
the  laws  of  his  nature."  "  No  one  will  prevent  you  from  living 
according  to  the  laws  of  nature,  and  nothing  can  happen 
to  you  that  is  not  in  accordance  with  nature's  universal 
law."  "  Neither  hand  nor  foot  can  do  that  which  is  contrary 
to  the  laws  of  nature,  because  the  foot  can  only  fulfil  the 
functions  of  the  foot,  and  the  hand  those  of  the  hand. 
Similarly  with  man,  to  behave  as  a  man  is  not  to  defy 
nature's  laws,  because  it  is  only  fulfilling  the  functions  of 
man.  And  that  which  is  not  against  nature  cannot  be 
evil." 

Being  full  of  this  theory,  Marcus  Aurelius  applied  it  to  death, 
which,  being  a  natural  phenomenon,  was  to  be  accepted 
without  protest.  "  For,  after  all,  nature  forges  the  links 
and  nature  breaks  them.  Is  she  about  to  sever  them  ? 
Very  well,  let  us  then  say  farewell  as  if  we  were  taking 
leave  of  our  friends,  but  let  there  be  no  tearing  of  the  heart 
strings,  and  let  us  go  willingly,  and  so  avoid  being  dragged 
away.  This,  too,  is  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  nature." 


174  THE   NATURE   OF  MAN 

"Philosophy /'according  to  Marcus  Aurelius,  "is  to  await  death 
peacefully,  and  to  regard  it  as  merely  the  dissolution  of 
the  elements  which  compose  the  human  frame.  Such  is 
the  law  of  nature,  and  whatever  is  in  conformity  with 
nature  is  not  evil." 

Death,  being  a  phenomenon  in  conformity  with  nature, 
must  be  submitted  to.  "  Do  not  abuse  death,"  advises 
Marcus  Aurelius,  "  but  accept  it  with  resignation,  as  being 
in  accordance  with  the  will  of  nature.  Do»we  not  pass  on 
from  infancy  to  youth,  grow  up,  and  become  tall  and  attain 
manhood  ?  Do  not  our  teeth  come,  our  beards  grow,  and 
our  hair  turn  white  ?  If  we  marry,  do  we  not  beget  chil 
dren  ?  •  Are  not  all  such  events  in  their  due  season,  and  the 
work  of  nature  ?  Death  comes  through  the  same  agency. 
It  therefore  behoves  a  wise  man  to  approach  death  with 
neither  anger,  repugnance,  nor  contempt,  but  to  await  it  like 
any  other  operation  of  nature."  Resignation,  then,  is  what 
this  form  of  philosophy  amounts  to.  Not  only  must  death 
be  accepted  as  inevitable  when  it  comes  after  a  long  life, 
but  even  if  it  surprise  us  at  an  unexpected  time.  "  He  who 
dies  after  reaching  the  uttermost  limits  of  human  life," 
says  Marcus  Aurelius,  "  has  reached  no  further  than  he  who 
comes  to  a  premature  end.  It  is  the  same  in  the  end, 
whether  there  are  a  hundred  years  to  look  back  upon,  or 
whether  there  are  only  three." 

In  his  book  on  Marcus  Aurelius,  Renan  *  compares  his 
philosophy  of  resignation  with  the  Nirvana  of  the  Bud- 
dhists. "  Like  Jesus,  (Jakya-Mouni,  Socrates,  Francis  of 
Assisi,  and  three  or  four  other  wise  men,  Marcus  Aurelius 
was  victor  over  death.  He  could  laugh  at  it,  because  it 
had  no  longer  any  meaning  for  him."  But,  just  as  the 

*  "  Origines  du  Christianisme,"  vol.  VII.,  Sixth  Edition,  p.  483. 
Paris,  1819. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  175 

theories  of  Buddha  became  transformed  into  a  religion 
which  promised  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  as  Nir- 
vana gave  way  to  the  Paradise  of  the  Easterns  with  its 
delights,  so  the  sceptical  resignation  of  ancient  philosophy 
was  vanquished  by  Christianity  with  its  promises  of  a  future 
life  and  immortality. 

Thus,  in  the  course  of  the  centuries,  philosophy  has  been 
drowned  in  the  floods  of  sentiment  and  of  religious  notions, 
and  it  has  been  a  labour  of  Sisyphus  to  restore  reason  to 
humanity.  There  is  the  less  need  to  follow  the  stages  of 
this  resurrection,  as,  in  the  end,  they  come  to  little.  For 
long,  philosophical  systems  set  themselves  the  task  of  sup- 
porting the  dogmas  of  religion  by  arguments  independent 
of  divine  revelation.  The  gods  were  replaced  by  philo- 
sophy or  by  matter,  and  an  effort  wras  made  to  solve  the 
eternal  and  disquieting  problem  of  death  by  proving  the 
immortality  of  the  soul. 

The  philosophers  of  the  early  renaissance  of  human 
thought  accepted  the  chief  religious  dogmas  as  established 
truth.  Plotin  regarded  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  a 
self-evident  truth  that  required  no  proof  He  argued 
against  a  resurrection  of  the  body,  but  accepted  the  trans- 
migration of  souls. 

Although  Spinoza  had  given  up  the  conception  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  in  the  ordinary  sense,  he  accepted 
the  Aristotelian  idea  that  "  the  human  spirit  could  not  be 
destroyed  absolutely  with  the  body,  but  left  some  eternal 
remnant."  Death,  in  his  view,  was  a  kind  of  eternal  lile, 
a  merging  with  the  absolute,  a  return  to  the  immortal  and 
universal  substance. 

Philosophers  have  exhausted  themselves  in  the  study  of 
the  foundations  of  human  knowledge  with  the  sole  object 
of  demonstrating  the  truth  of  religious  dogmas.  In  spite 


176  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

of  his  scepticism,  Kant  tried  to  prove  the  genuineness  of 
human  knowledge,  and  to  found  on  that  a  conviction  of 
the  future  !ife  and  of  the  existence  of  God.  Fichte  set 
himself  the  same  task,  but  he  was  forced  to  recognise  that 
"  immortality  cannot  be  deduced  from  natural  phenomena," 
and  that  it  "  is  supernatural."  "  Although  we  cannot 
understand  the  possibility  of  eternal  life,  it  still  may 
be  possible,  for  it  transcends  human  knowledge."  Hege". 
reached  a  pantheistic  conclusion  and  believed  in  the  human 
soul  being  re-absorbed  by  the  absolute. 

These  idealistic  systems,  when  they  reached  their  final 
point,  provoked  a  reaction  consisting  in  the  rejection  of 
all  formulas  based  on  speculation.  They  were  succeeded 
by  a  dogmatic  materialism,  which  in  its  turn  gave  place 
to  a  sceptical  positivism,  or  rather  to  a  form  of  agnosticism. 
Granted  the  impossibility  of  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  or  in  eternal  life  in  any  shape,  the  philosophy  regard- 
ing death  was  reduced  to  the  stoical  idea  that  our  end  is 
in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  nature,  and  that  it  must  there- 
fore be  accepted  without  protest.  Resignation,  therefore, 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  became  the  watchword  of 
human  wisdom. 

It  was  only  to  be  expected  that  certain  courageous  and 
independent  thinkers  should  not  agree  with  this  conclu- 
sion, and  attempt  to  discover  some  other  solution  of  the 
great  problem  absorbing  mankind.  Thence  arose  pessimism, 
the  philosophic  theory  which  became  so  prevalent  during 
the  last  century,  and  which  claims  so  many  adherents  in 
the  present  day.  Pessimism,  like  belief  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  and  the  advocacy  of  resignation  to  the  evils  which 
beset  humanity,  is  the  product  of  the  East,  and  India  was 
probably  its  nursery.  A  pessimistic  view  of  life  is  a  salient 
feature  of  Brahminism,  but  Buddhism  develops  even  more 


PHILOSOPHICAL    REMEDIES  177 

fully  the  doctrine  that  everything  of  this  world  is  evi\ 
That  "  life  is  made  up  of  suffering  is  the  inexhaustible  theme 
wh'ch,  whether  in  the  shape  of  philosophical  argument,  or 
in  the  more  attractive  form  of  poetry,  the  Buddhist  Scrip- 
tures din  ceaselessly  in  our  ears.* 

In  Europe,  the  lyrical  poets  introduced  the  pessimistic 
conception  of  the  world,  attracted  by  its  emotional  appeal. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Byron  struck 
this  sad  note,  and  expressed  the  view  in  the  clearest  fashion, 
that  if  we  weighed  our  hours  of  joy  against  our  days  of 
pain,  we  should  perceive  clearly  that  whatever  our  life  had 
been  it  were  better  not  have  been.  In  the  following 
lines  his  conception  of  life  is  apparent : — 

"  Our  life  is  a  false  nature, — 'tis  not  in 
The  harmony  of  things,  this  hard  decree, 
This  uneradicable  taint  of  sin, 
This  boundless  Upas,  this  all-blasting  tree, 

Whose  root  is  earth,  whose  leaves  and  branches  be 
The  skies,  which  rain  their  plagues  on  men  like  dew — 
Disease,  death,  bondage — all  the  woes  we  see — 
And,  worse,  the  woes  we  see  not — which  throbs  through 
The  immedicable  soul,  with  heart-aches  ever  new." 

"EUTHANASIA." 

In  chap.  vi.  I  showed  that  Byron  was  haunted  by  a 
fear  of  death  which  ultimately  led  him  to  a  recognition  of 
the  instinctive  character  of  the  feeing.  He,  however,  like 
the  other  pessimistic  poets  (Leopardi),  did  not  regard  the 
world  as  being  merely  part  of  a  universal  system,  and  it  was 
left  to  philosophy  to  come  to  this  conclusion. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Schopen- 
hauer endeavoured  to  give  a  presentation  of  a  pessimistic 
theory,  borrowed  from  Hindoo  religions  and  from  the  views 
oi  contemporary  poets,  in  the  form  of  a  rational  prulosopny. 
*  Oldenberg,  loc.  cit.  p.  215. 

M 


178  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

He  develoDed  a  conception  of  life  according  to  which  "  exist- 
ence is  to  be  regarded  as  something  one  is  better  without, 
as  a  kind  of  mistake  which  should  be  remedied  when  recog- 
nised." *  According  to  Schopenhauer  existence  is  wrong, 
•and  results  from  the  gratification  of  unrestrained  desire. 
"If  an  attempt  be  made  to  realise  the  amount  of  misery, 
pain,  and  evil  of  all  kinds,  that  the  sun  shines  upon  in  its 
daily  course,  it  will  be  seen  how  much  better  it  would  be 
were  the  earth  to  exhibit  as  few  phenomena  of  life  as  the 
moon,  and  if  the  surface  of  the  earth  were  in  a  similarly 
crystallised  condition.  Human  life  might  equally  be  inter- 
preted as  a  useless  disturbance  of  the  exquisite  tranquillity 
of  nothingness,"  the  meaning  of  the  disturbance  being 
wrapped  in  impenetrable  mystery. | 

This  melancholy  state  of  life  was  the  result  of  the  cosmic 
process,  which  has  created  so  much  evil,  and  which  finally 
evolved  the  human  species,  capable  of  feeling  and  appre- 
ciating to  the  full  the  pain  of  the  world.  The  lower  animals 
he  regards  as  happier  than  man,  their  senses  being  less  fully 
developed,  and  being  unconscious  of  the  worst  aspects  of 
their  existence.  In  man,  pleasure-  is  purely  a  negation, 
whereas  the  sensation  of  pain  is  passive,  contemplation, 
a  human  monopoly,  rendering  suffering  still  more  unbear- 
able. "  Man's  capacity  for  pain  increases  far  more  with  the 
passage  of  time  than  does  his  capacity  for  enjoyment,  and 
is  especially  increased  by  his  foreknowledge  of  death. 
Animals  only  fear  death  from  instinct,  without  having  any 
real  knowledge  of  it,  and  without  having  the  prospect  of  it 
always  before  their  eyes,  as  is  the  case  with  human  beings."  J 
Schopenhauer  was  convinced  that  happiness  should  not  be 
regarded  as  the  aim  of  life.  "  The  greatest  mistake  we 

*  "  Parerga  und  Paralipomena,"  Edition  Reclam.,  vol.  II.,  p.  267. 
|  Ibid.  p.  253,  %  Ibid.  p.  251. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  179 

can  make,"  he  said  in  his  principal  work,*  "is  to  imagine 
that  we  are  placed  here  to  be  happy."  "  So  long  as  we  con- 
tinue in  this  erroneous  view  which  optimistic  doctrines 
serve  to  foster,  the  world  will  continue  to  seem  a  mass  of 
contradictions  to  us."  "  It  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to 
regard  pain  as  the  aim  of  life  rather  than  pleasure."  "  The 
destiny  of  all  human  existence  seems  to  be  suffering.  Life 
is  wrapped  about  with  evil,  and  cannot  be  protected  from 
it.  Life,  at  its  very  beginning,  is  signalised  by  tears,  its 
course  is  fundamentally  tragic,  and  still  more  tragic  is  its 
end.  It  is  impossible  to  ignore  that  all  this  is  meant  to  be." 
"  Death  is  the  real  goal  of  life.  Its  attainment  brings  a  solu- 
tion of  all  that  has  gone  before." 

The  prospect  and  expectation  of  death,  being  products  of 
reason,  are  experienced  by  men  and  not  by  animals.  "  Only 
in  the  case  of  humanity  is  the  will  capable  of  renouncing 
and  withdrawing  from  life." 

What  is  the  answer  to  all  these  contradictions  and  the 
explanation  of  a  cosmic  process  which  on  the  one  hand 
leads  but  to  death,  and  on  the  other  hand  develops  the 
intelligence  so  as  to  enable  it  to  fear  and  dread  the  inevitable 
end  ?  Is  the  solution  to  be  found  in  belief  in  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  supported  as  it  is  not  only  by  nearly  every 
form  of  religion,  but  by  numerous  systems  of  philosophy  ? 
Schopenhauer  devotes  many  pages  to  the  discussion  of  this 
question.  He  neither  supports  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body,  nor  the  immortality  of  the  conscious 
soul.  "  Just  as  the  individual  has  no  memory  of  pre-natal 
existence,  so  after  death  he  will  remember  nothing  of  his 
present  life."  j"  "  Those  who  regard  birth  as  the  actual 
beginning  of  man's  life  must  necessarily  face  death  as  final, 

*  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  726,  Leipzig, 
t  Loc.  cit.  vol.  II.,  p.  730. 


i8o  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

the  two  being  parallel.  No  man  can  therefore  regard  him- 
self as  immortal  without  forfeiting  his  belief  in  his  own  birth. 
Birth  and  death  have  the  same  origin  and  the  same  signi- 
ficance. They  represent  but  one  line,  extending  in  opposite 
directions.  If  birth  implies  an  origin  from  nothingness, 
then  death  must  be  complete  annihilation."  * 

There  is  no  such  thing  as  individual  immortality.  But, 
according  to  Schopenhauer,  to  desire  such  immortality 
would  merely  be  to  advocate  "  the  eternal  perpetuation  of 
a  great  mistake.  Each  individual  existence  is  a  definite 
mistake,  a  blunder,  something  that  would  better  not  have 
been,  and  the  object  of  existence  should  be  to  end  it."  f 

But  if  man,  as  an  individual,  is  mortal,  "  death  only  takes 
away  what  was  given  by  birth,  that  is  to  say,  the  principle 
by  which  death  itself  became  possible."  J  "  Consciousness 
ceases  at  death,  but  the  cause  which  produced  that  con- 
sciousness persists  ;  life  comes  to  an  end,  but  not  the 
principle  which  became  manifest  by  life."  § 

What  then  is  this  immortal  principle  ?  It  is  the  idea  of 
the  species  or  genus.  Men  or  dogs,  as  individuals,  perish  in 
due  course,  but  the  human  species  or  the  canine  species, 
the  man  "  idea  "  or  the  dog  "  idea,"  endures.  Here  Scho- 
penhauer reverted  to  the  conception  of  Spinoza,  who,  indeed, 
denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  none  the  less  believed 
in  the  immortality  of  the  principle  of  life.  This  ever- 
lasting principle,  according  to  Schopenhauer,  is  the  will 
in  its  widest  and  most  metaphysical  sense,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  mortal  soul  is  the  reason,  a  product  of  the 
functions  of  the  brain. 

The  eternal  principle  of  life  cannot  be  defined,  because 
"we  cannot  pass  outside  the  limits  of  our  consciousness. 

*  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  555,  Leipzig, 
f  Loc.  cit.  p.  561.         I  Loc.  cit.  p.  564.         §  Loc.  cit.  p.  566. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  181 

And  thus  the  problem  of  what  it  is  in  itself  cannot  be 
resolved."  * 

Schopenhauer  himself  recognises  that  this  solution  of 
the  problem  is  not  satisfactory  from  the  point  of  view  of 
those  who  desire  reassurance  of  their  immortality.  "  But," 
he  continues,  "it  is  better  than  nothing,  for  those  who 
dread  death  from  the  point  of  view  of  absolute  annihilation 
should  not  despise  the  certainty  of  the  persistence  of  the 
most  vital  principle  of  life."  f  He  further  remarks  that 
it  must  be  remembered  that  nature  is  interested  only  in 
the  preservation  of  the  species,  being  indifferent  to  the 
individual.  We  ourselves  being  only  a  part  of  nature  ought 
to  further  its  plans.  "  If  we  wish  to  attain  to  a  wider 
knowledge  of  nature,  we  must  place  ourselves  more  in  sym- 
pathy with  it,  and  regard  life  and  death  indifferently."  J 
Schopenhauer  himself  feels  that  his  theories  and  arguments 
are  unsatisfactory.  When  he  had  reached  the  full  develop- 
ment of  his  doctrine,  he  admitted  that  it  was  negative  in 
character,  and  that  it  ended  in  negation.  It  spoke  only 
of  what  it  had  to  deny  and  of  what  ought  to  be  abandoned. 
It  was  obliged  to  regard  as  nothingness  all  that  could  be 
acquired  in  the  future.  As  a  consolation,  he  added  that  he 
meant  relative  nothingness,  and  not  absolute  nothingness. 

As  an  ultimate  aim,  there  remained  nothing  but  abroga- 
tion of  the  will  to  live,  and  thus  misery  and  wretchedness, 
which  are  the  inseparable  accompaniments  of  human  life, 
led  to  resignation. 

As  our  life  is  no  more  than  a  succession  of  misfortunes, 
and  as,  according  to  Schopenhauer,  death  is  the  plain  con- 
clusion of  philosophy,  the  end  of  the  individual  life  must  be 
pleasant.  As  a  general  rule,  he  said,  the  death  of  a  well- 
regulated  life  is  calm  and  peaceful.  But  the  privilege  of 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  566.  t  Loc.  cit.  p.  537.  %  Loc.  cit.  p.  540. 


1 82  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

dying  willingly,  with  joy  and  delight,  is  reserved  for  him 
who  has  learned  resignation,  and  has  abolished  and  aban- 
doned his  will  to  live.  For  such  an  one  would  be  willing 
to  die  in  reality,  not  merely  in  appearance,  and  would  neither 
desire  nor  claim  a  personal  immortality.  He  would  give 
up  readily  the  existence  that  we  know.  Whatever  may 
replace  that  existence  is  nothing  from  the  point  of  view  of 
individuality.  The  Buddhistic  faith  called  the  position 
attained  by  him  who  had  given  up  the  will  to  live,  Nirvana, 
or  nothingness."  * 

The  natural  deduction  from  this  pessimistic  doctrine  of 
Schopenhauer  would  be  to  abolish  the  will  to  live  by 
abolishing  our  individual  life  by  suicide.  But  such  is  not 
the  advice  of  the  philosopher.  He  is  far,  however,  from 
agreeing  with  those  who  regard  suicide  as  criminal.!  He 
merely  does  not  admit  that  it  solves  the  question.  "  He 
who  commits  suicide  destroys  the  individual  only,  and  not 
the  species."  "  Suicide  is  the  voluntary  destruction  of  a 
solitary  phenomenon,  without  in  the  smallest  degree  affect- 
ing the  system  as  a  whole."  J 

The  will  to  live  manifesting  itself,  according  to  Schopen- 
hauer, by  the  creation  of  new  individuals,  the  philosopher 
would  naturally,  in  accordance  with  his  views  of  life,  abstain 
from  bringing  others  into  the  world.  Schopenhauer  lived 
and  died  a  bachelor,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  had  no  chil- 
dern.  On  the  other  hand,  convinced  that  the  solution  of  life's 
problem  did  not  lie  in  suicide,  he  clung  tenaciously  to  life. 
Having  relinquished  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
he  fell  back  upon  a  belief  in  the  persistence  of  some  ultimate 
principle,  apart  from  conscious  life,  and  held  that  in  resig- 
nation and  desire  for  annihilation  (Nirvana,  according  to 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  581.  f  "  Parerga,"  vol.  II.,  p.  258. 

%  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille,"  vol.  1.,  p.  472. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  183 

his  interpretation  of  the  Buddhist  doctrines)  lay  the  true 
consolation  for  all  the  evils  of  human  existence. 

For  a  long  time  Schopenhauer's  views  found  no  echo  in 
the  opinions  of  other  thinkers.  Later,  however,  they  became 
more  and  more  widely  diffused,  and  philosophic  pessimism 
became  quite  fashionable.  Those  who  did  not  adopt  the 
metaphysical  principles  of  Schopenhauer's  philosophy 
agreed  with  his  views  on  life  and  on  the  impossibility  of 
happiness. 

Exactly  half  a  century  after  the  publication  of  Schopen- 
hauer's principal  work,*  another  German  philosopher, 
E.  Hartmann,f  went  a  step  further  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Without  agreeing  wholly  with  his  metaphysics,  he 
shared  Schopenhauer's  views  on  the  impossibility  of  regard- 
ing happiness  as  the  true  aim  of  existence.  In  order  to 
demonstrate  this  theory,  he  examined  the  three  phases  of 
illusion  through  which  mankind  passes.  He  held  that,  in 
the  first  phase,  people  imagined  happiness  to  be  attainable 
during  the  present  life.  However,  all  that  have  been  regarded 
as  the  sources  of  joy — youth,  health,  desire,  conjugal  love, 
family  love,  glory,  etc. — end  in  disillusion.  Love  itself  is 
especially  submitted  to  Hartmann's  implacable  criticism. 
According  to  him,  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  "  love 
causes  far  more  suffering  than  pleasure  to  those  concerned."}; 
"  It  cannot  be  doubted,"  he  says,  "  that  reason  would  prompt 
a  total  abstention  from  love,"  and,  as  a  means  to  this  end, 
he  recommends  "  the  extinction  of  sexual  desire  by  castration, 
if  that,  could  be  relied  upon  to  destroy  desire."  §  That, 
according  to  Hartmann,  "  is  the  only  possible  means  of 
securing  the  happiness  of  the  individual."  It  is  at  the 

*  "Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung." 

t  "  Philosophic  des  Unbewussten,"  Berlin,  1869, 

J  Loc.  cit.  p.  560.  §  Loc.  cit.  p.  565. 


1 84  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

sacrifice  of  his  personal  happiness  that  man  permits  himself 
to  love,  and  so  abets  the  evolution  of  the  cosmic  process. 

When  they  have  become  convinced  of  the  impossibility 
of  obtaining  happiness  in  this  world,  people  persuade  them- 
selves that  it  may  be  obtained  after  death  in  a  transcendental 
life  in  another  world.  This,  however,  is  only  a  second 
phase  of  illusion,  and  is  based  upon  faith  in  life  after,  death 
and  eternity.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  individuality 
of  the  organic  body  as  well  as  that  of  the  mind  is  only  a 
delusion  which  ceases  with  death."  *  Hartmann  says  in 
conclusion  that  "it  is  therefore  plain  that  the  hope  of  the 
immortality  of  the  individual  soul  is  also  a  mere  illusion. 
And  thus  the  chief  support  of  the  Christian  promises  is 
cut  away  ;  for  men  are  devoted  to  their  dear  selves,  and  take 
little  interest  in  a  future  happiness  in  which  they  themselves 
are  to  have  no  share."  f 

Being  disillusioned  regarding  the  possibility  of  obtaining 
happiness  in  this  world,  or  in  a  future  state,  humanity  falls 
back  upon  a  third  illusion.  Firmly  convinced  that  the  aim 
of  life  is  true  happiness,  man  concluded  that  it  was  only 
attainable  in  some  future  state  of  the  cosmic  process.  This 
hypothesis  is  based  upon  belief  in  a  sytsem  of  progressive 
development.  "  This,"  declares  Hartmann,  "  is  yet  another 
mistake.  Humanity  may  progress  as  much  as  it  likes," 
he  says,  "  but  it  will  never  succeed  in  suppressing  or  even 
diminishing  the  greatest  evils  which  beset  it  :  disease,  old 
age,  dependence  on  the  wishes  or  the  power  of  others, 
misery  and  discontent.  Notwithstanding  the  new  remedies 
which  are  discovered,  the  number  of  diseases,  especially 
those  of  a  chronic  nature  which  are  so  trying,  continues  to 
increase  at  a  rate  that  medicine  cannot  keep  pace  with. 
Joyous  youth  will  always  constitute  a  small  portion  of 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  603.  t  Loc.  cit.  p.  606. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  185 

humanity,  while  the  greater  part  will  consist  of  melancholy 
old  age."  * 

Against  this  idea  that  the  happiness  of  the  race  will  be  the 
eventual  result  of  progress,  Hartmann  employs  the  follow- 
ing arguments  :  "  The  happiest  people  are  those  who  are 
the  rudest  and  most  primitive,  and,  among  civilised  races, 
the  uneducated  classes.  It  is  well  known  that  the  pro- 
gress of  education  increases  discontent.  The  progress  of 
science  contributes  little  or  nothing  to  the  absolute  happi- 
ness of  the  world.'  Practically  speaking,  this  progress  is  of 
advantage  to  politics,  social  life,  morality,  and  the  arts; 
but  factories,  steam-boats,  railways,  and  telegraphs,  have 
so  far  done  no  positive  good  to  humanity."  f  Hartmann 
frequently  recurs  to  the  conclusion  that  the  primitive  are 
happier  than  the  civilised,  and  that  "  the  lower  classes, 
inferior  and  rude,  are  happier  than  the  rich  who  are  well 
educated  and  great  ;  that  idiots  are  happier  than  the  intel- 
ligent, and  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  less  sensitive  a  man's 
nervous  system  may  be,  the  happier  he  is,  as  his  capacity 
for  feeling  pain  is  not  so  much  in  excess  of  his  capacity  for 
enjoyment,  and  his  i  lusion  is  therefore  greater.  With  the 
progressive  development  of  human'ty,  however,  not  only 
is  there  an  increase  in  the  extent  of  human  needs,  but  in  the 
sensitiveness  of  the  nervous  system,  and  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  mind.  In  consequence,  the  balance  of  pain  over 
pleasure  increases,  and  the  illusion  is  destroyed,  that  is  to 
say,  knowledge  comes  of  the  misery  of  life,  of  the  vanity  of 
most  of  the  pleasures.  Misery  itself  increases  as  much  as 
knowledge  of  misery,  as  experience  has  shown  ;  and  the 
apparent  increase  of  happiness  in  the  world,  due  to  the 
progress  of  universe,  is  merely  superficial. 

Having  reached  this  extremely  pessimistic  conclusion,  that 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  615.  t  Loc.  cit.  p.  621. 


1 86  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

it  is  impossible  for  humanity  to  attain  happiness,  Hartmann 
proceeds  to  inquire  into  the  real  destiny  of  man.  He  would 
be  no  true  philosopher  if  he  did  not  hold  that  the  world  was 
created  according  to  a  general  plan,  and  that  it  follows  a 
regular  course  tending  towards  a  definite  end.  "We  have 
seen,"  he  says,  "  how  that  in  the  present  world  all  has  been 
arranged  in  the  wisest,  and  for  the  most  part  the  best  way, 
and  that  it  should  therefore  be  regarded  as  the  best  possible 
of  worlds.  Notwithstanding  this,  however,  it  is  supremely 
miserable,  and  worse  than  if  it  did  not  exist  at  all." 

Being  convinced  of  the  illusory  nature  of  its  hopes, 
humanity  "  must  definitely  renounce  all  pretensions  to 
positive  happiness,  and  aspire  only  to  a  freedom  from  pain, 
to  annihilation  or  Nirvana.  This,  however,  must  not  be 
merely  the  attitude  of  solitary  individuals,  but  humanity 
at  large  must  cry  out  for  annihilation.  This  is  the  only 
possible  outcome  of  the  third  and  last  phase  of  illusion." 

By  what  means  is  this  end  to  be  attained  ?  Hartmann 
is  no  advocate  of  suicide  as  the  best  remedy  of  the  evils 
of  human  existence.  Upon  this  point  he  agrees  with  Scho- 
penhauer, and  thinks  that  such  a  course  would  have  no 
effect  upon  the  general  progress  of  the  cosmic  process.  A 
renunciation  of  pleasure — asceticism — would  present  no 
better  solution  of  the  problem.  Even  abstinence  from  repro- 
duction would  not  serve  the  purpose.  "  What  good  would 
it  do,"  says  Hartmann,  "if  humanity  were  to  cease  to  be 
by  means  of  sexual  abstinence  ?  This  unfortunate  uni- 
verse would  continue  to  exist,  and  the  Unconscious  would 
immediately  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  create 
a  new  man  or  some  other  similar  type."  *  Thus  it  is  not 
the  disappearance  of  mankind  that  should  constitute  our 
aim,  but  "  the  complete  abandonment  of  the  individual  to 
*  Loc.  dt.  p.  636. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  187 

the  cosmic  process,  in  order  that  the  latter  may  accomplish 
its  end  and  bring  about  the  universal  deliverance  of  the 
world."  *  This  being  so,  the  instinctive  love  of  life  reasserts 
itself,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  admit,  at  least  as  pro- 
visional truth,  "  the  validity  of  the  will  to  live  ;  for  it  is 
only  by  complete  resignation  to  life  and  its  troubles,  and  not 
by  cowardly  renunciation  and  abandonment,  that  one  may 
contribute  one's  share  in  the  development  of  the  cosmic 
process."  f 

Hartmann's  proposed  solution  of  the  problem  of  human 
existence  belongs  undoubtedly  to  the  category  of  systems 
advocating  resignation.  He  is  unable  to  tell  us  what  is  the 
cosmic  process  to  which  he  bids  man  lend  all  his  forces. 
He  advises  humanity  to  continue  to  live  and  to  multiply 
in  the  full  certainty  that  happiness  cannot  be  attained. 
Hartmann  obviously  demands  a  true  renunciation  and  an 
absolute  submission.  His  solution  has  the  appearance  of 
being  more  exact,  and  of  furnishing  a  guide  to  human  con- 
duct more  clear  than  that  vague  aspiration  to  Nirvana  pro- 
posed by  Schopenhauer.  But  on  closer  investigation  it 
becomes  at  once  plain  that  the  greater  precision  is  illusory. 

It  is  easy  to  see,  under  such  circumstances,  that  a  school 
of  criticism  or  negation  of  the  pessimistic  doctrines  should 
have  gained  many  adherents.  Very  few,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  embraced  pessimistic  doctrines  because  of  any 
power  being  inherent  in  them  to  resolve  the  difficulties  of 
life  A  German  pessimistic  philosopher,  Mailaender,J  shared 
fully  Schopenhauer's  opinions  as  to  the  misery  of  human 
life,  but  opposed  the  latter's  doctrine  of  resignation  and 
Nirvana  as  the  solution  of  the  general  problem  of  life. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  638.  f  Loc.  cit.  p.  638. 

£  "  Die  Philosophic  der  Erlosung,"  2  vols.  Third  Edition. 
Frankfort,  1894. 


1 88  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

Mailaender  accepted  the  three  stages  of  human  illusion  as 
expounded  by  Hartmann,  but  attacked  vigorously  the  view 
of  facilitating  the  cosmic  process  by  acquiescence  in  the 
will  to  live.  "  Indeed,"  he  cried,  "  your  advice  is  that  we 
should  sacrifice  ourselves  to  the  cosmos  ,  we  are  to  choose 
a  career,  to  learn  a  trade,  acquire  money,  property,  fame, 
power,  and  so  forth  ;  we  are  to  marry  and  to  beget  offspring  ; 
by  such  advice  you  are  merely  undoing  with  your  own 
hands  the  sole  merit  of  your  work,  the  analysis  of  illusion. 
You  suddenly  advise  the  very  man  who  has  got  behind  all 
these  illusions  to  succumb  to  them  again,  as  if  an  illusion, 
although  it  has  been  recognised,  could  still  deceive  and  exer- 
cise its  power."  * 

Mailaender  takes  an  entirely  different  view  of  the  problem. 
Like  his  predecessors,  he  is  convinced  of  the  futility  of  hap- 
piness, but  he  has  achieved  an  original  view  of  the  cosmic 
process.  He  holds  that  an  unaccountable  and  divine  Being 
existed  before  the  creation  of  the  world.  Before  disappear- 
ing "  this  divinity  gave  birth  to  the  universe."  By  this 
means,  complete  annihilation  was  made  possible.  "  The 
world,"  says  Mailaender,  "  is  but  the  means  for  bringing 
about  a  condition  of  non-existence,  and  is  the  only  possible 
means  by  which  that  end  could  be  attained.  God  knew 
that  only  by  creating  a  real  world  could  we  pass  from 
existence  into  non-existence."  Maileander  regards  as  cer- 
tain "  that  the  universe  tends  towards  universal  non-exist- 
ence." f  This  tendency  is  characterised  by  the  weakening 
of  the  total  amount  of  energy,  so  that  "  every  individual  at 
the  close  of  the  weakening  process  to  which  his  energy 'is 
submitted,  is  led  in  the  course  of  his  development  to  the 
point  at  which  his  desire  for  annihilation  may  be  fulfilled."  J 

*  Loc.  cit.  vol.  II.,  p.  637.  f  Loc.  cit.  vol.  I.,  p.  325. 

I  Loc.  cit.  p.  327. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  189 

Life  on  our  planet,  he  says,  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  halting- 
place  on  the  road  to  death.  In  order  to  appreciate  fully  the 
happiness  brought  by  death,  it  is  necessary  first  to  taste  of 
life,  and  that  is  why  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  is  so 
well  developed  in  animals.  Man  passes  first  through  a 
phase  of  development  in  which  he  is  like  any  other  animal. 
"As  with  them,  the  will  to  live  is  stronger  than  the  will  to 
die.  Life  is  clung  to  with  extreme  pertinacity,  and  death 
is  proportionately  execrated."  "  At  first,  not  only  the  fear 
of  death  increases,  but  equally  the  love  of  life.  Terror  of 
death  becomes  acuter.  Animals,  knowing  nothing  of  death, 
only  fear  it  instinctively  through  their  perception  of  approach- 
ing danger.  Man,  on  the  contrary,  knows  of  the  existence  of 
death  and  what  it  means.  He  looks  back  on  his  past  life 
and  wonders  what  the  future  may  hold  in  store,  and  realises, 
infinitely  more  than  animals  realise  it,  the  dangers  that 
threaten  him.  During  this  phase,  man  does  all  in  his  power 
to  keep  death  at  bay,  and  to  make  his  life  as  happy  as 
possible.  This,  however,  is  not  the  last  stage  of  his  develop- 
ment. The  thinking  man  soon  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
a  craving  for  life  is  not  the  true  aim  of  the  universe  ;  it  is 
only  the  means  for  attaining  to  a  knowledge  of  the  definite 
aim  of  existence,  which  is  the  cessation  of  life.  Philosophy 
soon  shows  that  perfect  happiness  is  not  possible,  and  that 
only  death  is  really  desirable.  In  summing  up  the  cosmic 
process,  the  conclusion  arrived  at  is  "  that  throughout  the 
universe  the  desire  of  death  exists  in  a  form  more  or  less 
masked,  but  that  in  the  organic  world  this  assumes  the  form 
of  a  will  to  live."  *  In  the  end,  however,  the  desire  of 
death  becomes  more  and  more  plain,  until  the  philosopher 
can  see  "  in  the  whole  universe  nothing  but  a  longing  for 
absolute  extinction,  and  fancies  that  he  can  hear  the  cry 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  3.34. 


190  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

rolling  from  star  to  star,  '  Deliverance,  deliverance,  death 
to  our  life  ! '  and  the  echoing  cry  of  consolation,  '  Extinction 
and  deliverance  await  you  all !  '  "  * 

In  order  to  explain  in  a  clearer  way  the  progress  of  this 
evolution,  Mailaender  describes  the  state  of  mind  of  a  man 
who  develops  the  will  to  die,  and  commits  suicide.  "  At  first 
he  glances  anxiously  and  from  afar  at  death,  and  shrinks  from 
it  with  horror.  Later,  he  draws  nearer  and  walks  round 
it  in  wide  circles.  Day  by  day,  however,  these  circles  become 
smaller,  until  finally  he  embraces  Death  with  weary  arms 
and  looks  it  straight  in  the  face.  Then  Peace  comes  ;  gentle 
Peace  !  "  f 

It  is  absurd  to  expect  anything  to  follow  death  but  abso- 
lute annihilation,  and  the  ordinary  man  faces  this  prospect 
with  terror.  "  But  it  is  essential,"  says  Mailaender,  "  that 
man  should  dominate  the  universe  by  knowledge,  and  wise 
men  look  forward  to  total  annihilation  with  joy."  J  "In 
relinquishing  Schopenhauer's  will  to  live,"  concluded  Mail- 
aender, "  I  have  finally  arrived  at  the  will  to  die.  I  have 
raised  myself  upon  the  shoulders  of  Schopenhauer,  until  I 
have  attained  a  point  of  view  such  as  others  have  never 
accomplished.  At  present  I  am  alone,  but  behind  me  all 
humanity  is  pressing  on  to  freedom  ;  and  before  me  is  the 
clear  translucent  vista  of  the  future."  § 

I  have  quoted  these  views,  not  because  of  the  solidity 
of  Mailaender's  arguments,  but  merely  because  this 
pessimistic  philosopher  proved  himself  to  be  more  con- 
sistent than  his  predecessors.  While  Schopenhauer  and 
Hartmann,  both  so  firmly  convinced  of  the  non-existence 
of  happiness  and  the  vast  preponderance  of  suffering  in 
all  imaginable  conditions  of  life,  lived  out  their  lives, 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  335.  f  Loc.  cit.  p.  349. 

J  Loc.  cit.  p.  358,  §  Loc.  cit.  vol.  II.,  p.  242. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  191 

Mailaender,  true  to  his  principles,  committed  suicide  when 
barely  thirty-five  years  of  age. 

This  is  probably  not  a  solitary  instance.  Under  the 
influence  of  pessimism,  a  certain  number  of  young  persons, 
especially  those  whose  mental  equilibrium  is  not  very  firmly 
established,  follow  in  the  tragic  footsteps  of  Mailaender. 
Some  commit  suicide,  while  others  abstain  from  taking  part 
in  the  perpetuation  of  the  race.  Others,  but  these  are  not 
many,  curtail  their  existence  by  dissipation,  thinking  life 
not  worth  the  care  of  it. 

A  modern  writer  of  great  talent,  Maeterlinck,  echoes 
the  pessimism  of  the  present  generation.  "It  is  plain," 
he  says,*  "  that  from  one  point  of  view  humanity  will 
always  seem  wretched,  and  as  though  being  dragged  towards 
a  fatal  precipice,  since  it  will  ever  be  doomed  to  disease, 
to  the  inconstancy  of  matter,  to  old  age  and  to  death." 
"  Yes,  human  life  as  a  whole  is  sad,  and  it  is  easier,  I 
may  almost  say  pleasanter,  to  discuss  and  expose  its  dark 
side,  than  to  enumerate  its  consolations  and  make  the  best 
of  them.  The  miseries  of  life  are  many,  obvious,  and 
never  failing;  whereas  the  consolations,  or  rather  the 
reasons  which  cause  us  to  fulfil  with  alacrity  the  duty  of 
living,  are  rare,  hard  to  seek,  and  precarious." 

Although  pessimism  has  been  greatly  developed  and  widely 
spread  during  the  nineteenth  century,  dissentient  voices  in 
opposition  to  this  negative  attitude  towards  the  things  of 
this  world  have  not  been  wanting.  Take  the  views  of  the 
German  poet,  Robert  Hammerling,f  who  reproaches  the 
pessimistic  philosophers  with  ignoring  the  attitude  of  mind 
of  the  majority  of  mankind  who  ask  but  one  thing, — life — 

*  "  Le  Temple  Enseveli,"  1902. 

f  Quoted  by  Steiner,  "  Welt  und  Lebensanschauungen  im  XIX. 
"  Jahrnundert,"  1901.  Vol.  II.,  pp.  170-173. 


1 92  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

life  at  any  price  and  under  any  conditions.  Against  this 
sentiment  all  dogmatic  arguments  are  useless,  for,  according 
to  Hammerling,  the  question  of  pleasure  and  pain  is  a  matter 
of  feeling  and  not  of  reason.  Now,  with  regard  to  the  general 
feeling  of  humanity,  there  can  be  no  doubt — it  is  frankly 
optimistic. 

Max  Nordau,  the  well-known  writer,  supports  a  similar 
theory.  According  to  him,  all  living  nature  betrays  its 
optimistic  foundation.  "  The  truth  is,"  he  says,  "  that  opti- 
mism, limitless  and  irradicable  optimism,  constitutes  the 
fundamental  attitude  of  man,  and  is  the  instinctive  feeling 
which  governs  him  under  all  circumstances.  All  other  forms 
of  life  confirm  this  truth.  .  .  ."  "  All  nature,"  according 
to  Max  Nordau,  "by  the  bells  of  flowers  and  the  throats  of 
her  birds,  rings  and  proclaims  the  truth  of  optimism."  "  No 
animals  feel  the  pain  of  the  world ;  and  our  own  ancestor, 
the  contemporary  of  the  cave  bear,  was  certainly  free  from 
all  anxiety  relating  to  the  destiny  of  the  human  race." 

These  arguments  do  not  take  into  account  that,  to  be 
true,  pessimism  need  not  necessarily  be  felt  and  agreed  with 
by  all  living  creatures.  Birds  and  other  animals,  happy  in 
their  lives,  that  is  to  say  optimists,  know  nothing  of  the 
inevitability  of  death.  Our  cave  ancestors  knew  nothing 
of  it  either.  If  the  greater  portion  of  modern  humanity  is 
optimistic,  that  might  be  accounted  for  by  its  being  still 
under  the  influence  of  one  of  the  three  phases  of  illusion 
alluded  to  by  Hartmann.  It  is  only  when  the  highest  stage 
of  development  is  reached  that  man,  being  convinced  of  the 
futility  of  his  hopes,  arrives  at  a  pessimistic  conception  of 
the  universe. 

Max  Nordau  disclaims  discipleship  of  Doctor  Pangloss, 
who  held  that  the  world  is  the  best  of  all  possible  worlds. 
But  his  arguments  reveal  a  pronounced  optimism.  He 


PHILOSOPHICAL  REMEDIES  193 

regards  pain  as  an  indispensable  factor  of  the  maintenance 
of  life.  "  Without  pain,"  he  says,  "  our  lives  would  not 
endure  an  hour,  for  we  should  be  unable  to  recognise  dan- 
gerous symptoms  and  guard  against  them."  Insensibility 
to  pain  is  often  so  grave  a  symptom  that  sick  people  rejoice 
when  they  are  again  able  to  feel  the  prick  of  a  needle. 

This  is  true  enough,  but  none  the  less  the  feeling  of  pain 
is  very  erratic  in  both  animals  and  human  beings.  Quite 
insignificant  causes  and  unimportant  illnesses,  such  as  certain 
forms  of  neuralgia,  give  rise  to  unbearable  agony.  A  physio- 
logical phenomenon  such  as  childbirth  is  often  attended 
by  extremely  violent  pain  which  is  absolutely  useless  as 
a  danger-signal.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  most 
dangerous  diseases,  such  as  cancer  or  kidney  disease,  may 
exist  for  a  long  time  without  causing  any  sensation  of  pain, 
with  the  result  that  the  sufferer  knows  nothing  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  disease  until  it  is  too  late.  Were  pain  to  play  the 
part  assigned  to  it  by  Nordau,  it  would  appear  in  all  cases 
of  danger,  and  yet  would  never  become  almost  unbearably 
acute. 

But  when  men  have  passed  through  the  three  stages  of 
illusion  it  is  not  physical  pain  which  presses  most  heavily 
on  them.  Max  Nordau  himself  admits  that  it  is  "  appalling 
to  think  of  the  cessation  of  our  consciousness,  and  the  anni- 
hilation of  our  ego."  None  the  less,  he  believes  "  that  we 
are  so  happily  constituted  as  to  be  able  to  accept  the  really 
inevitable  with  a  light  heart,  and  that  there  is  no  ill  feeling 
about  the  matter."  This  admission  is  not  in  accordance 
with  the  well-established  facts  discussed  in  chap.  vi. 
With  very  rare  exceptions  man  does  not  willingly  accept 
the  prospect  of  death,  especially  if  he  be  still  under  the 
influence  of  illusion  in  any  of  its  three  stages.  As  a  rule 
those  who  desire  to  live  feel  not  only  a  repugnance  to  the 

N 


194  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

contemplation  of  death,  but  death  seems  to  them  something 
abnormal  and  irrational.  It  is  no  answer  to  assert  that  all 
who  feel  this  are  psychopaths,  or  that  it  is  absurd  to  think 
that  the  happiness  of  mankind  counts  for  something  in  the 
cosmic  process.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  quite  natural  that 
man  should  seek  after  happiness,  and  that  he  should  try  to 
analyse  the  phenomena  taking  place  within  him  and  around 
him  from  the  point  of  view  of  that  ideal.  For  this  reason 
it  is  quite  unjust  to  say  that  pessimism  cannot  be  treated 
seriously.  It  is  pessimism  which  has  been  the  first  to  draw 
up  a  true  indictment  of  human  nature,  and  if  pain  is  to  be 
regarded  as  useful  in  its  quality  of  danger-signal  we  should 
equally  recognise  that  the  pessimistic  view  of  the  universe 
is  a  step  onwards  in  the  evolution  of  humanity.  Without 
pessimism  we  might  easily  sink  into  a  kind  of  contented 
fatalism,  and  end  in  quietism,  in  the  manner  of  many  religions. 
It  is  only  natural,  however,  that  the  thinking  world  should 
not  accept  pessimism  as  the  last  word  of  human  wisdom, 
and  that  more  or  less  noted  philosophers  should  devote 
themselves  to  rinding  a  possible  solution  of  the  problem  of 
life  and  death.  These  systems  of  philosophy,  one  and  all, 
have  abandoned  readily  all  belief  in  future  life  and  personal 
immortality.  But  they  have  adopted  pantheistic  concep- 
tions, and  have  accepted  the  existence  of  some  general  prin_ 
ciple  into  which  the  individual  consciousness  will  eventually 
be  absorbed.  There  is  division  of  opinion  as  to  the  pro- 
perties of  this  principle.  For  some  it  is  the  Idea,  for  others 
Will,  for  others  Force,  or  Eternal  Energy.*  The  nomen- 
clature is  the  less  important  as  the  views  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  general  principle  are  absolutely  vague.  Accordingly 
this  part  of  the  philosophic  doctrines  appears  in  a  lyrical 
form  and  has  passed  over  into  the  domain  of  poetry. 
*  Herbert  Spencer. 


PHILOSOPHICAL    REMEDIES  195 

German  poets  have  helped  to  spread  pantheistic  con- 
ceptions very  widely.  I  need  hardly  mention  Goethe,  whose 
ideas  were  purely  those  of  Spinoza,  but  Schiller's  well-known 
lines  are  precise  : — 

"  Vor  dem  Tode   erschrickst  Du  ?    Du   wiinschest    unsterblich   zu 

leben  ? 
Leb  im  gazen  !  Wenn  du  lange  dahin  bist,  es  bleibt !  " 

"  Do  you  shrink  from  approaching  Death  ?   and  crave  immortality  ? 
Live  on  in  the  All !  Long  after  you  vanish  the  All  will  remain !  " 

Riickert,  in  lines  almost  equally  well  known,  expresses 
the  same  idea  : — 

"  Vernichtung  weht  dich  an,  so  lang  Du  Einzler  bist. 
O,  fiihl'  im  ganzen  Dich,  das  unvernichtbar  ist." 

"  Annihilation  fills  you  with  terror,  because  you  are  self-centred.   You 
must  feel  your  unity  with  the  All,  which  is  indestructible." 

A  volume  might  be  filled  with  the  attempts  of  thinkers  of 
different  countries  to  present  these  poetical  ideas  in  a  form 
less  vague  and  more  philosophical.  I  shall  select  only  a 
few  of  the  more  modern  instances. 

Kenan's  *  ideas  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the  compro- 
mise between  poetry  and  philosophy.  Speaking  of  immor- 
tality, he  said  "  that  we  shall  each  live  again  by  the  traces 
we  leave  on  the  bosom  of  the  Infinite."  t 

The  views  elaborated  by  Guyau  J  are  equally  poetic. 
Like  so  many  others  he  is  unable  to  accept  without  protest 
the  prospect  of  the  inevitability  of  death.  Brought  face  to 
face  with  this  end,  he  declares  that  he  feels  "  not  sorrow  but 
indignation,  as  against  an  injustice  of  nature."  "  It  is  with 
justice,"  he  cries,  "  that  we  look  on  nature  as  a  murderess 

*  "Dialogues  et  Fragments  philosophiques,"  Paris,  1876- 

t  Loc.  cit.  p.  139. 

%  "  L'Irreligion  de  1'Avenir."     Sixth  Edition,  Paris,  1895. 


196  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

if  she  kills  what  is  morally  best  in  ourselves  and  in 
others."  * 

It  is  chiefly  in  the  name  of  love  that  Guyau  protests 
against  death  :  "  The  death  of  others,  the  annihilation  of 
those  we  love,  is  insupportable  to  men,  who  are  essentially 
thinking  and  loving  creatures."  f 

This  problem,  so  vast  and  so  difficult  to  solve,  is  presented 
by  him  as  follows  :  "As  regards  the  question  of  individual 
immortality,  human  thought  is  dragged  in  opposite  direc- 
tions by  two  great  forces — science,  in  the  name  of  evolution, 
prepared  to  sacrifice  the  individual  completely;  love,  in 
the  name  of  an  evolution,  morally  and  socially  higher,  which 
would  preserve  the  individual  at  all  hazards.  There  is  no 
more  disturbing  dilemma  proposed  to  the  philosopher."  J 

Guyau  hopes  that  in  the  course  of  evolution  there  will 
come  about  a  merging  of  individual  consciousness  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  whole.  "  One  may  ask,"  he  says,  "  if 
it  may  not  be  that  these  conscious  entities  mingling  and 
interpenetrating,  may  come  to  live  on  from  one  to  the  other, 
and  so  to  acquire  a  new  duration  ?  "  On  such  a  hypothesis 
he  can  foresee  "  an  epoch  not,  indeed,  certain  to  come,  but 
far  from  inconceivable,  in  which  individual  consciousnesses 
will  have  achieved  a  corporate  integrity  and  a  complex 
intercommunion,  without  themselves  being  lost  by  the 
union."  § 

On  this  hypothesis,  "  the  problem  is  to  be  at  the  same 
time  loving  enough  and  loved  enough  to  live  and  endure  in 
another.  ||  .  .  .  Those  who  vanish  and  those  who  remain 
must  love  one  another  so  greatly  that  the  shadows  cast  by 
them  on  the  universal  consciousness  are  identical."  "  We 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  462.  t  Loc.  cit.  p.  462. 

%  Loc.  cit.  p.  464.  §  Loc.  cit.  p.  470. 

|l  Loc.  cit.  p.  471. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  197 

should  then  feel  ourselves  passing  and  ascending  from  this 
life  to  an  immortality  of  love,"  and  "  the  point  of  contact 
between  life  and  immortality  would  be  discovered."  *" 

A  solution  recently  offered  by  Finot  f  is  much  less  poetical. 
According  to  him,  it  is  only  "  when  death  is  conceived  of  as 
annihilation  that  it  is  repugnant.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
we  regard  it  merely  as  a  change  of  life,  we  shall  cease  to 
fear  it,  and  even  come  to  love  it."  J 

But  what  is  this  "  change  of  life  "  that  is  to  prove  so 
consoling  ?  It  is  the  "  immortality  of  the  body,"  that  is 
to  say,  the  life  of  the  creatures  developed  at  the  expense  of 
the  human  body.  "  Flies  begin  the  work  of  the  labourers 
oh  the  dead,"  giving  birth  to  worm-like  larvae  that  writhe 
in  the  decomposing  flesh.  The  same  vermin  that  horrified 
Tolstoi  when  he  thought  of  his  own  death  (see  chap.  vi. 
p.  123)  became  Finot's  symbol  of  consolation.  He  describes 
the  whole  succession  of  the  fauna  of  corpses,  and  concludes 
by  saying,  "  and  so  goes  on  the  routine  of  life,  from  birth  to 
the  tomb,  of  noisy,  clamorous  life,  ceaselessly  renewed. 
Ever  loving,  giving  birth,  living  and  dying.  The  peace  of 
the  tomb  is  as  filled  with  life  as  the  dust  into  which  we 
think  our  bodies  will  fall."  § 

I  have  given  the  above  quotation  as  an  instance  showing 
to  what  lengths  men  have  gone  in  their  search  for  a  solution 
of  the  problem  of  death  and  in  their  desire  for  a  gleam  of 
hope  that  the  end  may  not  be  final.  I  need  not  say  that 
this  idea  of  the  fauna  of  the  corpse  has  no  place  in  the 
philosophy  of  death.  Thinkers,  no  doubt,  would  prefer 
the  most  vague  ambiguities  to  certainties  of  such  a  nature. 
Most  contemporary  philosophers  regard  the  problem  in  a 
very  different  fashion. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  472.    f  "  La  Philosophie  de  la  Longevite,"  Paris,i9OO. 
%  Loc.  cit.  p.  307.  §  Loc.  cit.  p.  105. 


198  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

In  my  opinion,  Meyer-Benfey,  a  scholar  at  Gottingen,  has 
summed  up  the  present  condition  of  the  problem  very  clearly 
and  exactly,  in  essays  on  Modern  Religion.*  He  realises 
that  it  is  impossible  to  accept  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
Personality  must  utterly  and  inevitably  perish.  But,  just 
as  no  single  atom  of  our  bodies  can  be  annihilated,  so  "no 
parts  of  our  souls  can  be  lost."  Our  actions  during  life  leave 
traces  so  much  the  deeper  as  the  life  has  been  fuller.  It  is 
this  reuniting  "  of  the  actions  of  individuals  with  the  life  of 
the  whole  of  humanity,  that  constitutes  the  true  immor- 
tality or  Nirvana."  He  says,  too,  "  In  accustoming  our 
minds  to  this  thought,  and  in  educating  ourselves  with  a 
view  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  end,  lies  the  only  possible 
means  of  overcoming  the  fear  of  death  and  the  terror  of 
annihilation." 

Meyer-Benfey  is  of  the  pessimistic  opinion  that  happiness 
cannot  possibly  be  regarded  as  the  supreme  end  of  humanity, 
for  he  thinks,  if  that  were  so,  the  whole  course  of  evolution 
would  have  been  a  mistake.  It  would  have  been  much 
better  had  evolution  been  arrested  before  the  creation  of  the 
human  race,  since  animals,  being  unaware  of  the  inevitability 
of  death,  are  undoubtedly  happier  than  man.  As,  however, 
we  have  passed  through  the  animal  stage  and  reached  the 
human  stage,  and  achieved  some  measure  of  civilisation, 
and  this  not  by  our  own  desire,  or  as  the  result  of  mere 
chance,  but  guided  by  the  inner  workings  of  our  nature,  it 
is  plain  that  the  ultimate  goal  towards  which  we  are  advanc- 
ing, must  be  some  other  than  mere  happiness.  There  can 
be  no  question  but  that  the  goal  is  the  triumph  of  pure 
and  perfect  culture. 

This  idea,  that  the  goal  of  humanity  is  progress  in  all  its 

*  "Diemoderne  Religion."  Leipzig,  1902.  See  also  Frankfurter 
Zeitung,  Feb.  19  and  20,  1902. 


PHILOSOPHICAL   REMEDIES  199 

manifestations,  is  no  recent  theory,  and  many  definitions  of 
this  progress  have  been  advanced,  but  so  far  none  have  been 
generally  accepted  as  satisfactory.  The  term  "  culture,'' 
though  vague,  will  have  to  continue  in  use  until  some 
better  word  conveying  a  more  precise  meaning  is  found  to 
replace  it. 

On  reviewing  all  the  systems  of  philosophy  which  have 
attempted  so  strenuously  to  solve  the  problem  of  individual 
death,  it  becomes  plain  that  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  them  deny 
the  existence  of  a  future  life  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  The  greater  part  of  them,  however,  admit  some 
general  principle  incomprehensible  but  eternal,  which  will 
eventually  incorporate  within  itself  all  individual  souls. 
Feeling  that  these  vague  ideas  are  incapable  of  conveying 
consolation  to  poor  humanity  in  its  fear  of  annihilation 
through  death,  philosophers  have  persistently  taught  the 
advantages  of  resignation.  Even  Guyau,  realising  that  his 
philosophy  regarding  the  immortality  of  love  fails  to  reas- 
sure those  who  look  to  philosophy  for  some  word  of  conso- 
lation, ends  by  admitting  that  "  as  there  is  no  help  to  be 
expected  from  the  inexorable,  nor  mercy  from  that  which 
is  in  conformity  with  the  universe  and  even  with  our  own 
judgment,  resignation  is  best."  *  As  it  is  the  general  opinion 
that  to  be  philosophical  is  to  take  things  as  they  are,  without 
undue  protest,  the  watchword  of  all  systems  of  philosophy 
is  to  bow  to  the  inevitable,  that  is  to  say,  to  be  resigned  to 
the  prospect  of  annihilation. 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  476, 


PART  III 

WHAT   SCIENCE    IS  ABLE   TO   DO  TO 

ALLEVIATE    THE    DISHARMONIES 

OF  THE  HUMAN  CONSTITUTION 


CHAPTER   IX 

WHAT  SCIENCE  CAN  DO  AGAINST  DISEASE 

Formation  of  the  experimental  method — The  intervention 
of  religion  in  disease — Disease  as  a  basis  of  pessimistic 
systems  of  philosophy — Advance  of  medical  science  in  the 
war  against  disease — The  revolution  in  medicine  and  surgery 
due  to  the  discoveries  of  Pasteur — The  beneficial  results  of 
Serum  Therapy  in  the  war  against  infectious  diseases — 
Failure  of  science  to  cure  tuberculosis  and  malignant  tumours 
— Protests  against  the  advance  of  science — Opposition  of 
Rousseau,  Tolstoi,  and  Brunetiere — Proclamation  of  the 
fallibility  of  science — Return  to  religion  and  mysticism 

SCIENCE,  the  youngest  daughter  of  knowledge,  has  begun 
to  investigate  the  great  problems  affecting  humanity 
The  chief  religions  and  many  systems  of  philosophy  had 
been  long  established  before  the  spirit  of  scepticism  dared 
to  inquire  whether  or  no  these  products  of  the  human  mind 
were  really  in  harmony  with  fact.  Scepticism  gained 
ground  little  by  little,  and  open  war  was  declared  between 
religious  dogma  and  authority  on  the  one  side,  and  scientific 
reason  on  the  other. 

The  great  religions  and  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle  had 
ruled  a  majority  of  mankind  for  some  twenty  centuries 
before  doubt  was  <:ast  on  the  real  value  of  these  doctrines. 

Francis  Bacon,  Lord  Verulam,  asked  why  it  was  that 
all  the  systems  of  his  time  were  so  vague  and  so  powerless 
to  explain  the  phenomena  of  the  world.  The  cause  could 
not  lie  in  nature  herself,  for  without  doubt  she  followed  laws 


204  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

that  were  immutable  and  that  could  be  subjected  to  exact 
observation  ;  nor  could  it  lie  in  any  want  of  intelligence 
in  those  men  who  devoted  themselves  to  solve  the  problems. 
The  true  cause  of  the  failure  lay  in  the  falsity  or  insufficiency 
of  the  methods  employed.  Bacon,  trying  to  provide  a 
remedy  for  this  condition  of  affairs,  advised  that  makers 
of  generalisations  should  proceed  very  slowly,  passing  only 
by  the  smallest  stages  from  particular  facts  to  conclusions 
only  more  general  in  the  slightest  degree,  and  so  on,  until 
the  ultimate  formula  might  be  reached.  By  such  a  path 
it  was  possible  to  attain  principles  neither  vague  nor  am- 
biguous, but  clear  and  exact  and  that  would  not  be  denied 
by  nature  herself. 

The  first  steps  taken  by  science  according  to  this  method> 
which  indeed  had  been  suggested  long  ago,  but  which  was 
first  clearly  laid  down  by  Bacon,  were  slow  and  halting. 
Religious  and  philosophical  doctrines  still  weighed  heavily 
on  inquiring  minds,  so  that  the  new  method  was  not  followed 
with  any  great  courage.  None  the  less  progress  was 
achieved,  until  at  length  the  great  problems  of  humanity 
opened  out.  More  than  two  thousand  years  before  the 
birth  of  exact  science,  Buddha  had  given  voice  to  the 
chief  grievances  of  the  human  race.  "  Behold,  O  monks, 
the  holy  truth  as  to  suffering,"  he  had  proclaimed  in  the 
Sermon  at  Benares,  "  birth  is  suffering,  old  age  is  suffering, 
disease  is  suffering,  and  death  is  suffering."  Science, 
in  its  slow  progress,  passing  from  particular  to  general, 
reached  first  one  of  these  four  sorrows,  the  suffering  due  to 
disease. 

In  the  Buddhist  legend  that  I  quoted  in  chap,  vi., 
the  sight  of  a  sick  man  "  whose  senses  were  weakened, 
who  drew  his  breath  with  difficulty,  whose  limbs  were 
shrivelled,  whose  bowels  were  wrung  with  pain,  and  his 


WHAT    SCIENCE   CAN   DO  205 

body  pitifully  soiled  with  excrement,"  suggested  to  Buddha 
the  reflection  that  "  health  is  no  more  than  the  idle  vision 
of  a  dream  while  fear  and  disease  are  horrible  realities. 
What  wise  man,  having  seen  the  thing  that  life  is,  can  still 
think  of  joy  or  of  pleasure  ?  Woe  upon  health  which  is 
assailed  by  so  many  maladies."  When  Buddha,  who  was 
a  young  prince,  asked  of  his  father  the  gift  "  that  he  might 
always  remain  full  of  health,  and  that  he  should  be  smitten 
by  no  disease,"  his'  father,  who  was  the  king,  replied:  "You 
ask  me  what  is  impossible  ;  in  that  my  son,  I  can  do 
nothing." 

From  that  day,  every  religion  has  busied  itself  with  the 
cure  and  prevention  of  disease.  They  believed  that  the 
causes  of  these  were  the  influence  of  evil  spirits  or  the 
visitations  of  God  ;  and  as  remedies  they  prescribed  sacri- 
fice and  prayer  and  anything  that  might  avert  the  anger 
of  God.  Even  at  the  present  day,  similar  medicine  is  used 
by  primitive  races.  In  Sumatra  for  instance,  when  it  is 
impossible  to  arrest  the  flow  of  blood  from  a  wound,  the 
disaster  is  ascribed  to  an  evil  spirit  (Polasieq)  who  is  suck- 
ing the  wound  and  making  it  incurable.  In  Nias,  when 
bleeding  from  the  nose  occurs  in  children,  it  is  supposed 
to  be  due  to  the  father  having  killed  a  cock  during  the  preg- 
nancy of  the  mother.  The  indispensable  remedy  is  to  make 
sacrifice  to  the  outraged  deity. 

No  doubt  there  co-exist  with  such  practices  of  primitive 
races,  certain  useful  rules,  based  on  correct  observation 
or  on  experience.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  try  all  manner 
cf  remedies  on  the  sick  ;  although  most  do  harm,  now  and 
again  something  useful  may  be  discovered.  Such  vulgar 
medicine  has  undoubted  merit,  but  it  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  results  of  scientific  medicine,  which  are  drawn 
from  rigorous  experiment. 


206  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

Medical  science  has  been  slow  in  developing,  but  it  has 
now  reached  a  condition  of  which  humanity  may  be  proud. 
It  is  outside  my  purpose  to  give  a  long  exposition  of  this 
subject ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  my  argument  to  set  out  a 
few  facts  from  which  the  reader  may  judge  of  the  present 
condition  of  medical  science. 

Without  doubt  the  fear  of  disease  has  played  a  large  part 
in  the  pess  mistic  conceptions  of  the  universe.  Not  only 
the  words  of  Buddha  that  I  have  quoted,  but  many  of 
the  systems  of  pessimistic  philosophy  attest  this  I  have 
already  stated  in  chap.  vi.  that  Schopenhauer  in  1831  was 
driven  from  Berlin  to  Frankfurt  by  fear  of  cholera. 

In  his  statement  of  the  case  against  this  universe,  and 
as  a  chief  argument  for  his  proposition  that  "  this  is  the 
worst  of  possible  worlds "  Schopenhauer  adduced  the 
spreading  of  epidemics.  "  An  alteration  of  the  atmosphere 
so  slight  that  it  ,cannot  be  detected  by  chemistry  brings 
about  cholera,  or  yellow  fever,  or  the  black  death,  diseases 
which  number  their  victims  by  millions ;  an  alteration 
slightly  greater  might  destroy  all  life."* 

Hartmann,  who  has  been  one  of  the  chief  advocates  of 
Schopenhauer's  pessimism,  also  had  gloomy  views  on 
diseases  and  medicine.  He  was  convinced  that  howsoever 
great  the  progress  of  humanity  might  come  to  be,  there 
never  would  be  an  end  or  even  a  diminution  of  diseases. 
"  It  is  no  matter,"  he  said,  "  how  many  remedies  may  be 
discovered  for  diseases ;  new  diseases,  and  particularly 
chronic  affections  which,  although  not  serious  are  extremely 
painful,  will  continue  to  appear  more  rapidly  than  the 
discoveries  of  medicine. "f 

Humanity  will  be  fortunate  if  the  pessimistic  philosophers 

*  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.,  p.  687. 
t  "Philosophic  des  Unbewussten,"  p.  615. 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  207 

prove  as  wrong  about  their  other  grievances  as  they  have 
proved  about  disease  and  medicine.  To  understand  the 
vast  progress  made  by  medicine,  it  is  necessary  only  to 
compare  the  complaint  of  Schopenhauer  with  the  actual 
state  of  affairs.  When  he  spoke  of  epidemics  being  due 
to  slight  changes  of  the  atmosphere,  Schopenhauer  obviously 
was  repeating  the  medical  opinion  current  in  his  times. 
Experimental  science  has  proved  that  he  was  quite  wrong. 
It  has  been  shown  conclusively  that  two  of  the  great  affec- 
tions of  which  he  spoke,  cholera  and  plague,  are  due  not 
to  chemical  changes  in.  the  air,  but  to  definite  microbes, 
the  natural  history  of  which  is  known  as  well  as  that  of 
any  other  plant.  Cholera  is  produced  by  the  vibrio,  dis- 
covered by  Koch,  a  minute  organism  that  lives  in  water 
and  that  enters  the  human  alimentary  canal  with  food  or 
drink.  We  do  not  yet  know  a  definite  cure  for  cholera, 
but  we  do  know  how  to  prevent  infection.  The  most 
simple  mode  of  guarding  against  infection  is  to  swallow 
only  material  that  has  been  boiled,  and  to  prevent  con- 
tamination of  water  or  of  vessels  with  faecal  matter  con- 
taining the  Koch's  vibrio.  Moreover,  in  individual  cases 
use  may  be  made  of  anti-cholera  serums.  In  1831,  if  these 
discoveries  had  been  made,  philosophy  would  have  taken 
a  different  course.  Instead  of  trembling  at  the  epidemic, 
and  flying  to  Frankfurt,  Schopenhauer  would  have  remained 
quietly  at  Berlin,  and  Hegel  would  not  have  ceased  to 
develop  his  idealism  in  the  university  of  that  town. 

Schopenhauer  enforced  his  argument  by  reference  to 
the  black  death  "  capable  of  destroying  millions  of  victims." 
It  is  certain  that  the  black  death  was  no  other  than  human 
plague,  which  made  enormous  ravages,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  for  instance,  destroying  nearly  a  third  of  the  popu- 
lation of  Europe.  In  those  days,  no  one  doubted  but  that 


208  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

it  was  a  visitation  of  the  Divine  wrath,  and  people  gathered 
in  churches  to  make  common  supplication.  Sacrifices 
were  offered  and  flagellations  took  place  in  the  hope  of 
averting  the  terrible  malady.  Travellers  who  have  been 
in  the  capital  of  Austria  must  have  seen  in  one  of  the  chief 
streets  (Graben)  a  large  and  unlovely  monument,  erected 
in  the  seventeenth  century  to  commemorate  the  inter- 
position of  Providence  in  staying  one  of  the  great  epidemics 
of  plague.  Now  that  science  has  made  known  the  true 
cause  of  plague,  our  ideas  as  to  the  causes  of  the  appearance 
and  disappearance  of  epidemics  are  very  different.  Plague 
is  not  the  manifestation  of  the  anger  of  God,  but  is  a  scourge 
due  to  invasion  by  a  minute  organism,  discovered  simul- 
taneously by  Kitasato  and  Yersin  in  1894.  The  natural 
history  of  the  microbe  has  been  studied,  and  we  know  that 
it  may  live  not  only  in  human  bodies  but  in  the  bodies  of 
small  rodents,  such  as  rats  and  mice,  which  live  in  associa- 
tion with  man.  These  animals  are  the  source  of  human 
infection,  and  it  is  necessary  to  destroy  them  as  completely 
as  possible.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  arrest  of  the 
plague  in  the  seventeeth  century  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
rats  and  mice  had  themselves  been  exterminated  by  the 
plague. 

Plague,  which  formerly  was  the  most  terrible  of  epidemic 
diseases,  has  now  become  a  misfortune  against  which  it  is 
simple  to  guard  ourselves.  To  secure  that  end,  however, 
we  have  not  to  pray  or  to  scourge  ourselves,  but  to  take 
measures  to  destroy  rats  and  mice.  Moreover  serums  may 
be  employed  ;  and  the  use  of  these  is  not  only  prophylactic, 
but  if  the  disease  be  not  too  advanced,  is  actually  curative. 
The  danger  of  which  Schopenhauer  spoke  may  be  regarded 
as  definitely  averted,  and  this  is  due  to  the  advance  of 
medical  knowledge.  In  such  countries  as  British  India  in 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  209 

which  plague  still  causes  great  losses,  we  have  to  blame 
the  ignorance  of  the  population.  Instead  of  following 
the  course  prescribed  by  science,  these  people  still  prefer 
the  rules  laid  down  by  the  Brahmanistic  religion.  Their 
idea  of  cleanliness  and  purity  is  a  religious  idea,  and  not 
that  of  medicine  and  bacteriology.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  plague  still  exists  in  India/  but  none  the  less  no  case 
is  a  -better  instance  of  the  progress  of  knowledge. 

Hartmann's  idea  as  to  a  progressive  increase  in  the 
number  of  diseases  rests  on  no  exact  grounds,  and  is  in 
opposition  to  much  that  we  know.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  as 
knowledge  of  hygiene  advances  and  becomes  spread  among 
the  peoples,  diseases  become  less  frequent  and  less  fatal. 

A  great  stimulus  was  given  to  medicine  and  surgery  when 
there  was  applied  to  these  the  knowledge  gained  by  Pasteur 
in  his  study  of  fermentation.  Pasteur  showed  that  fermen- 
tations were  chemical  alterations  in  organic  matter,  excited 
by  the  presence  of  minute  organisms  very  common  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  man. 

This  discovery  was  applied  in  the  first  place  to  surgery. 
Lord  Lister,  then  a  surgeon  in  Scotland,  showed  that  the 
festering  of  wounds  was  due  to  the  entrance  of  minute 
organisms.  Following  this  clue,  he  succeeded,  by  the  use 
of  dressings,  in  preventing  the  contamination  of  wounds 
and  at  once  saw  a  vast  reduction  in  deaths  following  surgical 
operations.  Since  the  discovery  of  anaesthetics,  such  as 
ether,  chloroform,  and  cocaine,  and  the  use  of  germ-free 
dressings,  surgery  has  been  developed  in  a  marvellous 
fashion.  The  varied  and  delicate  feats  of  abdominal 
operation  are  known  to  all,  and  recently  surgery  of  the 
heart  has  become  possible. 

A  comparison  of  the  mortality  of  the  wounded  in  the 
different  wars  of  the  nineteenth  century  affords  an  excellent 

o 


2io  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

means  of  gauging  the  progress  of  surgical  treatment  of  gun- 
shot wounds.  The  mortality  of  the  wounded  among  the 
English  troops  in  the  Crimean  war  reached  15.21  per  cent.  ; 
in  the  French  troops  in  Italy  in  1859-1860,  it  was  17.36 
per  cent.  ;  in  the  German  army  in  1870-1871,  the  years 
in  which  antiseptic  surgery  came  into  use,  it  fell  to  11.07 
per  cent.  ;  while  in  the  Spanish-American  war  in  1898, 
in  the  most  brilliant  period  of  modern  surgery,  the  percent- 
age mortality  of  wounded  had  fallen  to  6.64.*  In  the  recent 
Transvaal  war,  the  mortality  was  half  what  it  had  been 
in  the  Franco-Gerfnan  war.f 

New  medical  knowledge,  founded  on  the  discovery  of 
the  nature  of  ferments  and  of  the  virus  of  infection,  has 
reformed  the  practice  of  midwifery  to  such  an  extent  that 
puerperal  fever,  formerly  one  of  the  great  scourges  of 
humanity,  is  now  extremely  rare. 

Blindness  acquired  at  birth,  which  formerly  rendered 
many  lives  extremely  miserable,  is  now  practically  com- 
pletely prevented,  by  means  of  the  precautions  taken  to 
hinder  the  child  from  being  contaminated  by  the  mother 
in  the  process  of  birth.  The  most  successful  method  is  that 
which  was  suggested  by  Crede,J  a  German  physician,  and 
consists  in  placing  in  the  pupils  of  the  infant  a  minute  drop 
of  nitrate  of  silver,  which  is  an  antiseptic,  and  prevents 
the  occurrence  of  ocular  blennorrhagia. 

*  Borden,  "The  Use  of  the  Rontgen  Ray,"  p.  20.  Washington. 
1898. 

f  Bulletin  du  Service  de  Santl  Militaire,  No.  499,  p.  73.    1901. 

+  The  efficacy  of  Creole's  treatment  may  be  inferred  from  the 
figures  recorded  at  Stockholm,  in  which  city  the  adoption  of  the 
treatment  caused  the  percentage  of  cases  of  this  nature  to  fall  from 
0.56  in  1891  to  0.045  in  1899.  See  Widmark,  "  Mittheihmgen 
a  d.  Augenklinik  d.  Carol.  Med.  Chir.  Instit.  zu  Stockholm,"  p.  126. 
1902, 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  211 

Appendicitis,  a  disease  so  common  that  I  referred  to  it 
in  chap.  iv.  as  one  of  the  most  salient  examples  of  dis- 
harmony in  the  human  constitution,  has  been  resolutely 
attacked  by  medical  science.  In  some  cases,  surgical  in- 
terference makes  a  definite  end  of  the  disease  ;  in  other 
cases  medical  treatment  has  been  enough  to  subdue  the 
symptoms  without  recourse  to  operation. 

For  a  considerable  period,  those  of  a  sceptical  disposition 
asserted  that  the  advance  of  bacteriological  knowledge 
was  of  service  only  in  surgical  cases.  But  Pasteur  showed 
that  this  was  an  erroneous  view.  Working  with  Chamber- 
land  and  Roux,  Pasteur  demonstrated  that  many  infectious 
diseases  could  be  prevented  by  the  use  of  attenuated  virus  ; 
he  succeeded  in  saving  the  lives  of  many  animals  and  of 
men,  bitten  by  rabid  dogs  and  affected  by  hydrophobia, 
a  disease  formerly  almost  invariably  fatal  and  among  the 
most  horrible  to  which  man  is  liable. 

In  the  latter  direction,  medical  science  is  developing 
at  an  extraordinary  rate,  and  is  achieving  results  of  a  re- 
markable nature.  Among  recent  discoveries,  I  may  mention 
that  of  the  curative  properties  of  the  blood-serum  of  animals 
which  have  been  subjected  to  the  action  either  of  microbes 
or  of  the  soluble  products  of  microbes.  Von  Behring, 
working  with  the  Kitasato,  a  Japanese  investigator,  has 
shown  that  a  serum  of  this  nature,  prepared  with  the  poison 
produced  by  the  microbe  of  diphtheria  (the  poison  was 
discovered  by  Roux  in  collaboration  with  Yersin),  is  capable 
not  only  of  protecting  those  in  good  health  from  diphtheria, 
but  of  curing  those  who  have  been  attacked  by  the  disease. 
The  serum  fails  to  act  only  when  it  is  employed  in  advanced 
cases  of  diphtheria. 

Anti-diphtheritic  serum,  introduced  into  medical  practice 
about  eight  years  ago,  has  been  tried  in  every  way  and  has 


212  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

been  proved  to  possess  both  preventive  and  curative  proper- 
ties. If  patients  still  die  from  diphtheria,  it  is  only  because 
the  treatment  has  been  applied  too  late  or  insufficiently. 

The  use  of  the  anti-diphtheritic  serum  has  reduced  the 
mortality  in  cases  of  diphtheria  from  50  or  even  60  per 
cent,  to  12  or  14  per  cent.  The  number  of  infant  lives 
that  have  been  saved  by  this  method  must  be  enormous. 

The  beneficent  discovery  of  the  curative  value  of  serums 
has  been  applied  to  other  diseases  and  is  giving  very  en- 
couraging results.  I  cannot  go  into  details  here,  but  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  in  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  medicine 
has  entered  a  new  epoch,  and  has  taken  its  place  among 
other  exact  sciences  based  on  the  experimental  method. 
Although  it  is  not  surprising  that  in  so  short  a  space  of  time 
science  has  not  yet  conquered  all  the  ills  affecting  humanity, 
this  failure  has  provoked  the  most  severe  criticism. 

"  Indeed,"  one  of  the  critics  has  said,  "  you  vaunt  the 
progress  of  medical  science  at  a  time  when  you  have  to 
confess  that  it  has  failed  to  cure  tuberculosis,  one  of  the 
gravest  of  the  infectious  diseases,  which  alone  causes  the 
death  of  a  sixth  part  of  the  human  race."  It  is  true  that 
the  infectious  nature  of  this  scourge  was  announced  by 
Villemin  more  than  forty  years  ago.  Twenty  years  have 
passed  since  Koch,  the  German  bacteriologist,  discovered  the 
microbe  that  produces  not  .only  the  ordinary  form  of  pul- 
monary consumption  but  all  other  varieties  of  tuberculosis. 
And  we  are  still  ignorant  of  any  remedy  for  the  disease. 
In  all  the  bacteriological  institutes  and  laboratories  search 
is  being  made  for  some  vaccine  or  serum  or  medicament 
which  will  arrest  a  disease  that  in  many  cases  nature  herself 
cures.  But  the  results  amount  practically  to  nothing. 

This  is  certainly  a  good  example  of  the  failure  of  science. 
None  the  less  a  closer  examination  shows  that  even  with 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  213 

the  knowledge  already  gained  we  could  deal  with  tubercu- 
losis in  a  manner  more  efficacious  than  is  the  existing  prac- 
tice. When  the  infectious  nature  of  the  disease  had  been 
made  known,  before  waiting  for  the  discovery  by  Koch 
of  the  actual  bacillus,  we  should  have  employed  all  the 
known  modes  of  destroying  infectious  matter.  In  spite 
of  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  on  the  subject,  people 
still  spit  on  the  floors  of  omnibuses  and  cars  and  on  street 
pavements.  Tuberculosis  is  propagated  not  because  of 
the  failure  of  science,  but  because  of  the  ignorance  and 
stupidity  of  the  population.  To  diminish  the  spread  of 
tuberculosis,  of  typhoid  fever,  of  dysentery,  and  of  many 
other  diseases,  it  is  necessary  only  to  follow  the  rules  of 
scientific  hygiene,  without  waiting  for  specific  remedies. 

Although  the  science  of  to-day  is  sufficiently  ajmed 
against  the  diseases  commonly  known  as  infectious,  the  case 
is  very  different  with  some  other  affections,  among  which 
the  chief  place  is  taken  by  malignant  tumours,  or  cancers, 
in  the  most  general  sense  of  the  word. 

There  are  few  maladies  more  terrible,  for  they  practi- 
cally never  disappear  spontaneously,  and  surgery  can 
remove  them  successfully  only  if  they  have  been  recognised 
at  an  early  stage.  Every  year  a  number  of  persons,  old 
and  young,  die  victims  of  malignant  tumours,  and  it  is  even 
possible  that  cancer  is  more  prevalent  now  than  in  former 
times.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  increase  of  cancer 
is  due  to  the  greater  longevity  among  modern  races,  and 
as  malignant  tumours  are  most  common  in  old  persons, 
it  may  well  be  that  the  prolongation  of  life  has  given  this 
disease  a  larger  field.  However,  even  allowing  for  this, 
it  is  probable  that  there  is  a  real  increase  of  cancer. 

Unquestionably  the  malignant  tumours  are  the  diseases 
most  disappointing  to  medicine  and  surgery,  and  these 


2i4  THE    NATURE   OF    MAN 

sciences  are  as  much  at  a  loss  with  regard  to  them  as  in  the 
case  of  infectious  diseases  before  the  discovery  of  pathogenic 
organisms.  Science  is  perhaps  even  in  worse  case  with 
regard  to  cancer  than  it  formerly  was  with  regard  to  infec- 
tious diseases,  for,  before  the  discovery  of  microbes,  some- 
thing was  known  of  the  virus  which  produces  infection. 
Thus  the  virus  of  smallpox  was  known,  and  was  used,  by 
the  method  of  inoculation,  to  prevent  more  serious  attacks 
of  the  disease.  Nearly  a  century  before  the  discoveries 
of  Pasteur,  Jenner  had  been  able  to  be  of  the  greatest  service 
to  mankind  by  his  discovery  that  the  virus  of  cow-pox 
could  be  used  as  a  preventive  of  infection  by  smallpox. 

In  the  case  of  malignant  tumours,  we  do  not  even  know 
their  real  nature  ;  we  are  ignorant  as  to  whether  or  no  they 
are  infectious,  and  whether  they  are  caused  by  a  microbe 
coming  from  without  or  are  due  to  internal  changes  of  the 
tissues.  Our  ignorance,  however,  affords  no  ground  for 
despair.  It  is  probable  that  the  malignant  tumours  will 
soon  come  to  be  ranged  with  infectious  diseases  due  to 
invasions  by  specific  microbes.  Experiments  on  the  cancers 
in  rats  and  mice  have  shown  that  these  can  be  inoculated 
in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  case  of  the  recognised  infectious 
diseases.  Hanau  has  shown  that  this  occurs  in  the  case 
of  epithelioma  of  old  rats- ;  Morau*  has  succeeded  in  trans- 
ferring the  cancers  of  white  mice,  and  his  results  have  been 
confirmed  by  Jensenf  and  BorrelJ,  in  the  Institut  Pasteur. 
These  investigations  mark  the  beginning  of  a  new  stage  in 
the  knowledge  of  tumours.  I  am  unable  to  see,  therefore 
that  the  malignant  tumours  provide  a  satisfactory  argument 
in  favour  of  a  pessimistic  conception  of  the  universe. 

*  "  Archives  de  medecine  experimentale,"  vol.  VI.,  p.  677.    1894* 

t  "  Hospitalstidende,"  May  7,   1902,  p.  489. 

J  "  Annales  de  1' Institut  Pasteur,"  February   1903. 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  215 

Dr.  Boas,  of  Berlin,*  in  a  recent  publication,  has  laid 
stress  on  the  fact  that  most  patients  affected  with  cancer 
do  not  seek  medical  aid  until  the  disease  is  far  advanced. 
For  instance,  in  80  per  cent,  of  the  cases  of  cancer  of  the 
rectum  that  he  had  attended,  the  patients  presented  them- 
selves too  late  for  operation.  Boas  advised  that  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public  should  be  drawn,  by  means  of  widespread 
publication,  to  the  earliest  symptoms  of  cancerous  disease. 
He  thought  that  such  a  course  might  save  many  lives  by 
making  possible  operation  in  early  stages. 

The  prevention  and  treatment  of  disease,  which  for  long 
was  in  the  hands  of  religious  authorities,  is  now  passing 
into  the  care  of  those  who  employ  the  methods  of  scientific 
medicine.  It  is  now  only  in  the  case  of  certain  nervous 
maladies,  which  can  be  treated  by  suggestion,  that  religion 
has  any  important  part  to  play.  I  have  not  thought  it 
necessary  to  expound  at  length  the  work  of  science  in  the 
struggle  against  disease,  because  the  evidence  on  this  point 
is  extremely  clear  and  precise.  Every  one  must  accept  it, 
and  even  the  passionate  enemies  of  science  have  to  bow 
before  the  fact. 

However,  the  problem  has  been  changed.  Science  they 
now  admit,  is  capable,  no  doubt,  of  assuaging  humanity 
in  its  sufferings  from  this  or  the  other  disease.  But  there 
is  another  question.  Disease  is  only  an  episode  in  human 
life,  and  the  great  problems  remain  unsolved  by  science. 
It  is  not  enough  to  cure  a  man  of  diphtheria  or  intermittent 
fever  ;  it  is  necessary  to  explain  what  the  destiny  of  man 
is,  and  why  he  must  grow  old  and  die  at  a  time  when  his 
desire  to  live  is  strongest.  Here,  plainly,  all  science  must 
fail,  and  here  must  begin  the  beneficent  work  of  religion 
and  philosophy.  But  as  science  is  constantly  casting  doubt 
*  "  Deutsche  medecin.  Wochenschrift,"  October  30, 1902,  p.  798* 


2i 6  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

on  the  dogmas  of  religion,  and  criticising  adversely  the 
systems  of  philosophy,  it  is  plain,  that  so  far  from  being 
of  service,  science  is  actually  harmful  to  mankind. 

The  campaign  against  science  was  opened  long  ago.  In 
the  eighteenth  century  Rousseau*  opened  it  with  brilliancy 
and  zest  worthy  of  his  reputation.  He  defended  his  theme 
with  vigour  and  eloquence  and  the  following  quotations 
may  serve  as  an  example,  "  Know  O  people,"  he  wrote, 
"  that  nature  has  desired  to  preserve  you  from  science  as 
a  mother  tries  to  snatch  a  dangerous  weapon  from  the 
hands  of  her  child  ;  that  the  secrets  which  she  has  hidden 
from  you  are  evils  from  which  she  would  preserve  you,  and 
that  one  of  her  greatest  gifts  is  the  difficulty  with  which 
knowledge  is  acquired.  Human  beings  are  perverse,  but 
they  would  have  been  worse  had  they  had  the  misfortune 
to  be  born  learned  men.f  '  Our  sciences  are  futile  in  so  far 
as  they  fail  to  attain  their  objects,  but  they  are  worse  than 
futile  in  the  results  that  they  bring  about.  Born  of  idle- 
ness, they  cherish  their  mother — Tell  me,  illustrious  philo- 
sophers, you  from  whom  we  know  why  matter  attracts 
matter,  the  relations  of  the  orbits  traced  by  revolving 
planets,  the  mathematical  properties  of  curves,  what  stars 
may  be  inhabited,  what  insects  exhibit  curious  modes  of 
reproduction  ;  tell  me,  I  say,  you  from  whom  we  have  gained 
such  marvellous  information,  if  you  had  never  learned  of 
these  things,  should  we  have  been  less  numerous,  less  well 
governed,  less  flourishing,  or  worse  disposed  ?  "  J 

Such  words  were  capable  of  impressing  men  because  of 
their  eloquence  and  sincerity,  but  they  could  not  arrest 
the  continued  and  triumphant  advance  of  science,  which 

*  "  Si   le   retablissement  des  sciences  et  des  arts  a  contribue  a 
6purer  les  mceurs." — "  GEuvres  completes,"  vol.  I.,  p.  463,  1875. 
t  Loc.  cit.  p,  469,  J  Loc.  cit.  p.  470. 


WHAT   SCIENCE    CAN    DO  217 

indeed,  precisely  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
began  its  modern  and  lasting  progress.  For  it  was  then 
that  Laplace  described  the  system  of  the  heavens  and  that 
Lavoisier  laid  the  foundation  of  modern  chemistry  and  of 
our  knowledge  of  the  indestructibility  of  matter. 

In  the  nineteenth  century,  science  has  made  a  revolution 
in  life  by  its  application  of  steam  and  by  its  other  triumphs. 
None  the  less  it  has  not  satisfied  many  distinguished  persons. 
And  to-day  we  find  a  writer  of  genius,  in  the  manner  of 
Rousseau,  raising  his  voice  against  the  science  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Tolstoi,  in  an  essay  of  which  the  title  is,  "  On  the  Aim  of 
Science  and  Art,"  has  attempted  to  show  the  incompetence 
of  science  with  regard  to  the  great  problems  that  occupy 
humanity.  The  task  set  himself  by  the  Russian  writer 
was  much  harder  than  that  of  Rousseau,  for  with  the  passing 
of  a  century  science  has  become  much  more  powerful. 

Tolstoi  is  convinced  that  theoretical  investigations  into 
the  origin  of  life,  the  intimate  structure  of  living  matter 
and  so  forth,  are  of  no  importance  to  human  beings,  and 
serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  flatter  the  pretensions  of 
the  learned.  "  All  that  we  call  culture,"  he  affirmed, 
"  our  sciences,  our  arts,  improvements  in  the  amenity  of 
life,  are  no  other  than  attempts  to  deceive  the  moral 
cravings  of  mankind  ;  all  that  we  call  hygiene  and  medicine 
are  no  other  than  attempts  to  deceive  the  physical  and 
natural  cravings  of  mankind."* 

The  whole  progress  of  science  "up  to  the  present  time, 

has  not  only  not  improved  the  lot  of  the  majority  of  man. 

kind,  that  is  to  say  of  the  labourers,  but  has  made  it  worse. "f 

Tolstoi  thinks  that  the  epithet  "  true  science  "  could  be 

given  only  to  "  knowledge    of    the    right    aim    and    true 

*  Loc,  cit.  p.  437.  t  L°c-  cit.  p.  397. 


2i8  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

happiness  of  each  individual  and  of  mankind  as  a  whole. 
Such  a  science  would  serve  as  a  guiding  thread  in  determining 
the  proper  sphere  of  all  knowledge  "  ;  "  without  knowledge 
of  the  proper  aim  of  life  and  of  the  real  good  of  humanity, 
all  other  knowledge  and  every  art  become  merely  amuse- 
ments idle  or  even  harmful."* 

The  chief  grievance  of  the  great  Russian  writer  against 
knowledge,  culture,  and  progress  can  be  resolved  into  the 
powerlessness  of  these  to  explain  the  most  difficult  problems 
of  humanity,  that  is  to  say  the  real  aim  of  human  life,  and 
what  really  constitutes  true  happiness. 

In  this  connection,  Tolstoi  gives  expression  to  a  view 
which  is  shared  by  many  thinkers.  Some  years  later, 
Brunetiere,t  a  well-known  French  writer  and  public  man, 
under  the  influence  of  a  recent  journey  to  Rome  and  visit 
to  the  Pope,  made  public  a  similar  opinion,  and  proclaimed 
aloud  the  fallibility  of  science. 

Brunetiere  made  his  criticism  as  follows  :  "  For  the  last 
two  or  three  centuries,  science  has  promised  to  change  the 
face  of  the  earth,  to  dispel  every  mystery  ;  she  has  not  done 
so.  She  is  powerless  to  resolve  the  sole  problems  that  are 
essential,  that  concern  the  origin  of  man,  the  rules  for  his 
conduct,  and  his  future  destiny.  We  know  now  that 
natural  science  can  teach  us  none  of  these  matters.  Thus, 
in  the  battle  between  science  and  religion,  science  has  been 
defeated,  because  she  has  had  to  admit  her  powerlessness 
precisely  where  religion  is  most  strong.  For  religion  gives 
the  solutions  that  science  has  failed  to  supply.  Religion 
teaches  us  what  we  can  learn  neither  from  anatomy  nor  from 
physiology,  that  is  to  say,  what  we  are,  whither  we  are 

*  Loc.  dt.  p.  411. 

f  Revue  des  Deux-Mondes  1895,  No.  I.  p.  97.  "  La  Science  et  la 
Religion."  Paris,  1885.  Le  Figaro,  January  4,  1899. 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  219 

going,  and  how  we  ought  to  act.  Religion  and  science 
supplement  each  other  ;  and,  as  science  can  do  nothing 
for  morality,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  religion  to  take  her 
place." 

It  has  been  replied  to  Brunetiere,  that  his  recriminations 
are  unfounded,  first,  because  science  has  never  undertaken 
to  solve  the  great  problems  of  the  aim  of  life  and  the  proper 
basis  of  morality  ;  next,  because  it  is  probable  that  these 
problems  will  never  be  solved  by  the  human  understanding. 
Charles  Richet,  a  well-known  French  physiologist,  made 
a  vain  effort  to  find  any  written  evidence  that  science  had 
promised  to  solve  the  great  problems  which  have  absorbed 
the  attention  of  Tolstoi  and  Brunetiere  as  well  as  of  quite 
a  large  section  of  humanity.  "  In  what  standard  works 
has  science  made  the  astonishing  promises  that  M.  Brune- 
tiere recalls  with  so  much  bitterness  ?  "  asked  Richet.* 
"  I  have  now  before  me,"  he  proceeded,  "  the  Manuel  du 
baccalaureat  es  sciences  (Guide  to  a  Degree  in  Science). 
It  is  a  summary  of  contemporary  scientific  ideas.  I  have 
looked  through  it  in  vain  for  promises — it  contains  no 
promises."! 

The  promises  referred  to  must  be  looked  for  in  scientific 
treatises  that  deal  in  generalisations.  It  is  not  to  be  dis- 
puted that,  since  the  renaissance  in  Europe  of  the  rational 
and  sceptical  spirit,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  last  two  or  three 
centuries,  the  view  has  been  proclaimed  that  all  human  life 
may  be  regulated  by  natural  laws  without  the  interposition 
of  dogmas,  either  metaphysical  or  religious.  Attempts 
of  this  kind  have  been  numerous.  Biichner,  in  his  treatise 
on  "  Force  and  Matter,"  in  which  he  tried  to  give  a  general 
conception  of  the  universe  based  on  the  scientific  knowledge 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  made  very  plain  statements  on 

*  Revue  Scientifique ,  vol.  I.,  p.  33.     1899.  t  Ibid.  p.  34. 


220  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

this  point.  "  We  must  seek  the  foundation  of  morality," 
said  the  German  populariser,  "  elsewhere  than  in  the  time- 
worn  and  fantastic  belief  in  the  supernatural.  Science 
must  replace  religion  ;  belief  in  the  real  existence  of  a 
natural  and  immutable  order  in  things  must  displace  belief 
in  spirits  and  ghosts  ;  natural  moral  law  must  take  the 
place  of  artificial  or  dogmatic  morality."*  Biichner  even 
tried  to  indicate  what  natural  morality  is.  According  to 
him  it  is  "  the  law  of  mutual  consideration  of  the  equal  rights 
of  each  person,  both  from  the  general  and  the  individual 
point  of  view,  so  as  to  assure  the  greatest  happiness  of  the 
greatest  number.  Everything  that  damages  or  destroys 
the  common  good  is  '  evil ; '  everything  that  favours  it  is 
<  good.'  " 

The  other  question,  as  to  whither  we  are  going,  finds  an 
answer  in  the  materialistic  and  scientific  breviary  of  Biichner. 
He  disputes  the  idea  of  immortality,  which  has  been  sup- 
ported by  nearly  all  the  religions,  and  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion that  "there  is  nothing  appalling  to  a  man,  "imbued 
with  the  principles  of  philosophy,  in  the  conception  of  the 
annihilation  of  the  individual  life."  "Annihilation  is  perfect 
rest ;  it  is  freedom  from  all  pain  and  escape  from  the  sen- 
sations that  torture  the  body  and  the  mind — as  was  ex- 
plained so  clearly  in  the  great  religion  of  Buddha  ;  it  is 
not  to  be  feared,  but  rather  to  be  coveted  when  life  has 
reached  its  normal  term  and  when  old  age  has  come  with 
its  inevitable  assemblage  of  infirmities." 

I  do  not  wish  to  suggest  that  the  views  I  have  just  quoted 
are  peculiar  to  Biichner.  That  writer  has  served  to  a  large 
extent  as  the  mouthpiece  of  ideas  current  among  the 
materialistic  and  positivist  men  of  science  of  his  time. 
In  Haeckel's  book,  "The  Riddle  of  the  Universe,"  which 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  511. 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  221 

appeared  nearly  half  a  century  after  the  first  edition  of 
"  Force  and  Matter,"  the  same  ideas  are  to  be  found.  He 
also  has  found  answers  to  the  questions  that  absorb  man- 
kind. In  his  opinion  also,  as  I  have  shown  in  chap.  v. 
the  problem  of  natural  morality  resolves  itself  into  the 
social  instincts  of  man,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  religious 
dogma.  As  for  the  destiny  of  man,  he  concludes  as 
follows:  "The  best  end  we  can  desire  after  a  courageous  life, 
spent  in  doing  good  according  to  our  light,  is  the  eternal 
peace  of  the  grave."* 

There  is  a  very  close  resemblance  between  the  views  of 
the  two  great  popularisers  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Just 
as  Buchner,  to  show  the  stupidity  of  the  idea  of  eternal  life, 
repeated  the  legend  of  the  "  Wandering  Jew,"  so  Haeckel, 
with  the  same  object,  related  the  legend  of  the  unhappy 
-'' Ahasuerus  "  who  sought  death  vainly,  finding  his  eternal 
life  intolerable.  "  However  gloriously  we  may  depict  this 
eternal  life  in  paradise,  in  the  end  it  would  be  a  fearful 
burden  to  the  best  of  men." 

While  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  such  ideas  are  shared 
by  many  men  who  rely  on  scientific  arguments,  there  are 
others  to  whom  the  problem  presents  itself  differently. 
The  German  physiologist,  Du  Bois  Reymond,  after  reflect- 
ing on  the  general  problems  of  knowledge  and  the  universe, 
proclaimed  an  "  Ignorabimus  "  as  a  warning  that  a  whole 
series  of  problems  of  the  highest  importance  to  humanity 
were  outside  the  range  of  human  knowledge  and  incapable 
of  solution.  These  problems  were  precisely  the  seven 
"riddles  of  the  universe"  that  Haeckel  claimed  to  have 
solved  in  his  book. 

Many  learned  men  think  that  the  great  problems,  those, 
according  to  Tolstoi,  that  constitute  the  only  true  science, 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  212. 


222  THE    NATURE   OF  MAN 

can  never  be  solved.  "  Every  day  there  comes  a  new. 
conquest,"  said  Richet,*  "  but  we  are  no  nearer  solution 
of  the  ultimate  enigma,  the  destiny  of  human  life,  an  enigma 
probably  never  to  be  solved."  Philosophers  have  taken 
the  same  view.  "  It  cannot  be  from  science,"  said  Guyau, 
"that  personality  is  to  require  the  proofs  of  its  own  dura- 
bility."! 

The  answers  given  by  science  as  it  exists  to-day,  have 
failed  to  console  the  spirits  that  have  applied  to  her.  When 
Richet,  in  the  discussion  on  the  "  bankruptcy  of  science  " 
recalled  the  discovery  of  treatment  of  diphtheria  by  specific 
serums  as  an  instance  of  the  value  of  scientific  research, 
Brunetiere  replied,  "Serum  therapy  cannot  prevent  us 
from  dying,  nor  tell  us  why  we  must  die."  The  problem  of 
death  always  recurs.  What  is  the  use  of  saving  the  life 
of  a  child  smitten  by  diphtheria  only  that  it  may  grow  up, 
and  by  learning  the  inevitability  of  death  become  filled  with 
terror  ? 

If  science  be  really  powerless  before  the  gravest  problems 
that  torture  mankind,  if  she  has  to  excuse  herself  by  admit- 
ting her  incompetence,  if  she  can  do  no  better  than  to  extol 
the  silent  annihilation  of  the  grave,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
many  minds  and  these  not  the  least  capable,  turn  from 
her.  The  desire  to  find  some  consolation  in  the  miseries 
of  a  purposeless  existence  throws  them  into  the  arms  of 
religion  or  metaphysics.  Here  lies  the  explanation  of  the 
actual  return  in  these  days  to  faith.  People  plunge  into 
mysticism  hoping  to  find  there  something  more  comforting 
than  the  annihilation  offered  by  science. 

In  all  ranks  of  modern  society  there  are  signs  of  this 
craving  for  the  supernatural.  It  is  therefore  extremely 
interesting  to  follow  the  intimate  steps  of  such  an 
*  Loc.  cit.  p.  35.  f  "  Irreligion,"  p.  460, 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN    DO  223 

abandonment  of  science  and  return,  to  faith.  The 
"  Confessions  "  of  Tolstoi  gave  one  of  the  best  examples  of 
the  metamorphosis. 

Having  reached  the  conclusion  that  life  is  meaningless 
because  it  cannot  be  harmonised  with  the  fear  of  death  and 
the  prospect  of  absolute  annihilation,  Tolstoi  (see  chap, 
vi.)  asked  if  it  were  not  possible  to  solve  the  great  problem 
of  human  existence  by  means  of  the  facts  of  science.  "  I 
searched  in  all  the  sciences,"  he  said,  "  and  not  only  found 
nothing  myself,  but  became  convinced  that  all  who  sought 
would  find  nothing.  Not  only  would  they  find  nothing, 
but  they  would  see  clearly  precisely  what  had  driven  me 
to  despair,  the  fact  that  the  absurdity  of  life  is  the  sole 
indisputable  bit  of  knowledge  open  to  man."  "  For  a  long 
time,  observing  the  grave  and  solemn  tones  of  the  exact 
sciences,  which  indeed,  hardly  touched  the  problem  of  life, 
it  seemed  to  me  that  they  must  be  concealing  something 
that  I  did  not  understand." 

All  the  while,  the  question  that  Tolstoi  put  to  himself 
seemed  simple  enough  :  "  Why  am  I  to  keep  alive  ?  Why 
am  I  to  do  anything  ?  "  or,  in  another  way :  "  Has  life  any 
object  that  is  not  destroyed  by  the  inevitable  death  that 
awaits  me  ?  To  the  one  question,  put  in  many  ways,  I 
sought  an  answer  in  human  knowledge."  "  From  my 
earliest  youth  the  speculative  sciences  interested  me  deeply. 
Later  on,  the  mathematical  and  physical  sciences  attracted 
me,  and  until  my  question  rose  up  clearly  before  me,  day 
by  day  growing  larger,  and  imperatively  demanding  an 
answer,  until  then  I  was  satisfied  with  the  semblance  of 
an  answer  given  by  science."  "  I  said  to  myself  ;  every- 
thing is  evolving,  differentiating,  moving  towards  com- 
plexity and  amelioration,  and  the  progress  is  under  the 
guidance  of  law.  You,  you  yourself  are  part  of  this  whole." 


224  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

"  Although  I  am  deeply  ashamed  to  confess  it,  there  was 
a  time  when  I  thought  myself  content  with  these  things. 
My  muscles  grew  and  became  stronger.  My  memory  added 
to  its  stores.  My  ability  for  thinking  and  understanding 
increased.  I  grew  and  developed,  and  feeling  the  growth 
within  me,  it  seemed  natural  to  believe  that  the  solution 
of  my  own  life  was  given  by  the  law  of  the  whole  universe. 
But  the  time  came  when  I  stopped  growing.  I  felt  that  I 
was  no  longer  developing  and  even  that  I  was  slipping  back. 
My  muscles  weakened ;  my  teeth  dropped  out ;  and  I  felt 
that  this  law  not  only  explained  nothing,  not  only  had  never 
explained  anything,  but  had  not  been  a  la-w  at  all ;  that  in 
fact  I  had  taken  for  a  law  what  I  found  in  myself  at  a 
particular  stage  of  my  life." 

"  As  I  found  no  explanation  in  science,"  Tolstoi  went 
on,  in  his  poignant  narrative,  "  I  began  to  look  for  the 
answer  in  life,  hoping  to  find  it  in  the  men  around  me." 
"  My  intellect  was  at  work,  but  also  something  else,  some- 
thing that  I  can  call  only  the  consciousness  of  life,  like  some 
strong  force  that  compelled  my  intellect  to  turn  in  another 
direction  and  to  rescue  me  from  my  desperate  condition." 

The  new  direction  was  the  feeling  of  faith.  "  However 
I  might  put  to  myself  the  question  :  how  must  I  live  ? 
the  answer  was — by  the  law  of  God.  Whither  tends  my 
present  life  ?  To  eternal  pain  or  to  blessedness  everlasting. 
How  is  my  life  not  destroyed  by  death  ?  By  eternal  union 
with  God,  by  heaven.  And  thus  I  was  led  inevitably  to 
see  that  quite  independently  of  human  knowledge,  which 
formerly  seemed  to  me  the  only  guide,  mankind  had  another 
guide,  a  guide  that  is  irrational ;  faith  which  makes  life 
possible.  Faith  seamed  to  be  as  irrational  as  ever,  but  I  could 
not  but  recognise  that  faith  alone  gave  mankind  an  answer 
to  the  problem  of  life,  and  in  consequence  made  life  possible. 


WHAT   SCIENCE   CAN   DO  225 

Reason  had  led  me  to  the  conviction  that  life  was  absurd, 
and  so,  there  being  no  longer  a  reason  to  live,  I  had  wished 
to  kill  myself.  Looking  at  mankind  as  a  whole,  I  saw  that 
men  kept  alive  by  assuring  themselves  that  they  saw  a 
meaning  in  life.  I  myself  came  back  to  that  point  of  view. 
I  had  reached  a  time  when  there  seemed  to  me  to  be  no 
meaning  in  life.  But  as  to  other  men,  so  to  me,  life  and  the 
possibility  of  living  were  offered  by  faith." 

Driven  in  the  direction  of  faith,  Tolstoi  reached  the 
following  conclusion  :  "  The  object  of  a  man's  life  is  the 
salvation  of  his  soul ;  for  that,  we  must  live  in  God,  and  to 
live  in  God  it  is  necessary  to  give  up  the  pleasures  of  life, 
to  work,  to  submit,  to  suffer  and  to  be  charitable."  And 
this  conclusion  led  to  the  other  that  "  a  faith  has  value  in 
so  far  as  it  gives  a  meaning  to  life  which  is  not  destroyed 
by  death." 

It  is  plain  then  that  all  this  evolution,  the  beginning  of 
which  was  the  fear  of  death,  ended  in  belief  in  something 
beyond  death.  And  it  is  also  plain  why  Tolstoi  should 
have  been  as  bitter  against  science  as  I  have  shown  him  to 
be.  Tolstoi  does  not  afford  the  only  example  of  a  case 
where  the  failure  of  science  to  solve  the  problem  of  death 
has  led  to  the  abandonment  of  science  in  favour  of  religion. 
Brunetiere,  if  it  is  possible  to  judge  from  his  published 
writings,  traversed  similar  paths  in  his  journey  to  the 
Catholic  religion. 

However,  even  an  intellect  so  positive  and  so  sceptical 
as  that  of  Zola  has  been  unable  to  resist  the  lures  of  faith. 
There  is  a  very  interesting  note  on  this  subject  in  the  Journal 
of  de  Goncourt,  dated  February  20,  1883.  *'  To-night, 
after  dinner,  at  the  foot  of  the  bedstead  of  carved  wood, 
where  coffee  was  served,  Zola  began  to  talk  of  death,  on 
wJaich  his  thoughts  have  been  fixed  more  than  ever  since 

p 


226  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

the  death  of  his  mother.  After  a  short  silence,  he  said 
that  death  had  made  an  in-road  on  the  nihilism  of  his1 
religious  convictions,  as  he  could  not  face  the  possibility 
of  an  eternal  separation." 

In  strata  of  society  less  impregnated  with  rational  and 
scientific  thought,  it  is  plain  that  the  return  to  religion 
must  be  more  common.  I  recall  the  case  of  a  woman  of 
the  people,  a  work-woman,  who  declared  that  she  formerly 
had  had  no  belief,  but  that,  since  the  birth  of  her  son,  she 
had  begun  to  believe  in  the  good  God,  as  she  was  convinced 
that  it  was  only  by  such  a  belief  that  she  could  guard  the 
life  of  her  child  from  the  evils  of  the  world. 

As  things  are,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  many  people 
decline  to  educate  their  children  in  an  exclusively  scientific 
spirit,  which  is  destructive  to  faith,  as  they  cannot  substitute 
for  faith  something  equally  consoling.  Perhaps  ideas  of 
this  kind  lie  behind  the  story  of  the  apple  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden  and  the  invention  of  the  words  of  Jahveh  :  "  But 
of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it  :  for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou 
shalt  surely  die  "  (Genesis  ii.  17).  The  legend  of  Prome- 
theus, who  stole  fire  from  heaven,  and  was  chained  to  a 
rock,  is  in  the  same  category. 

Solomon  gave  voice  to  the  same  idea,  in  the  clearest  way, 
in  his  words  :  "I  communed  with  mine  own  heart,  saying, 
Lo,  I  am  come  to  great  estate,  and  have  gotten  more  wisdom 
than  all  they  that  have  been  before  me  in  Jerusalem ;  yea, 
my  heart  had  great  experience  of  wisdom  and  knowledge. 

"And  I  gave  my  heart  to  know  wisdom,  and  to  know  mad- 
ness and  folly  :  I  perceived  that  this  also  is  vexation  of 
spirit. 

"  For  in  much  wisdom  is  much  grief  :  and  he  that  in- 
sreaseth  knowledge,  increaseth  sorrow"  (Ecclesiastes,  i.  16). 


WHAT  SCIENCE   CAN   DO  227 

Much  later,  Shakespeare  offered  to  us  in  Hamlet,  the 
type  of  a  man  very  highly  cultivated,  in  whom  reason  and 
reflection  had  arrested  action.  As  he  could  not  solve  by 
reason  the  problems  that  haunted  him,  he  asked  if  it  were 
worth  while  to  remain  alive.  Then  followed  the  famous 
lines: 

"  Thus  conscience  does  make  cowards  of  us  all, 
And  thus  the  native  hue  of  resolution 
Is  sicklied  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought." 

As  so  many  men  of  genius  have  taken  the  same  point 
of  view,  it  becomes  necessary  to  inquire  carefully  as  to 
whether  or  no  too  much  knowledge  be  harmful  to  human 
happiness.  If  science  do  no  more  than  to  destroy  faith  and 
to  teach  us  that  the  whole  living  world  is  moving  towards 
a  knowledge  of  inevitable  old  age  and  death,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  ask  if  the  perilous  march  of  science  should 
not  be  stayed.  Is  it  that  the  attraction  of  mankind  to 
knowledge  is  as  dangerous  to  the  race,  as  the  attraction 
of  moths  to  the  light  is  fatal  to  these  wretched  insects  ? 
The  question  demands  an  exact  answer.  But  before  giving 
the  verdict,  the  facts  of  the  case  must  be  examined.  I 
shall  proceed  to  this  in  the  chapters  to  follow. 


CHAPTER  X 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OP 
OLD  AGE 

General  account  of  old  age — Theory  of  senile  degeneration 
amongst  unicellular  organisms  —  Conjugation  amongst 
infusoria — Old  age  in  birds  and  anthropoid  apes — General 
characters  of  senile  degeneration — Sclerosis  of  the  organs — 
Phagocyte  theory  of  senile  degeneration — Destruction  of 
higher  elements  by  macrophags — Mechanism  of  whitening 
of  the  hair — Serums  acting  on  cells  (cytotoxins) — Sclerosis 
of  the  arteries  and  its  causation — Harm  done  by  the 
microbes  of  the  alimentary  canal — Intestinal  putrefaction, 
and  the  modes  of  preventing  it — Attempts  to  prolong 
human  life — Longevity  in  biblical  times 

WHILE  I  cannot  share  the  views  of  those  who  turn  from 
science  to  seek  truth  and  consolation  in  religion,  it  would 
be  wrong  to  ignore  or  to  be  indifferent  to  the  existence  of 
that  attitude.  There  are  men  who  are  tormented  by  the 
contradiction  between  the  desire  of  life  and  the  inevitability 
of  death,  and  when  these  demand  some  solution  of  the  pro- 
blem, it  is  unreasonable  merely  to  say  that  they  are  too 
exacting  and  should  learn  contentment. 

If  a  man  complains  to  his  physician  of  uncontrollable 
hunger  and  thirst,  he  is  not  told  that  it  is  wrong  to  be  so 
greedy,  and  that  that  fault  could  be  mastered  by  strength 
of  mind.  The  doctor  carefully  examines  the  patient  and 
does  what  he  can  for  the  distressing  symptoms,  which, 
indeed,  in  this  case  are  generally  due  to  diabetes.  Those  who 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY  OF  OLD  AGE     229 

hunger  and  thirst  after  eternal  life,  ought  to  be  similarly 
treated  by  men  of  science  whose  duty  it  is  to  ameliorate 
their  sufferings  as  much  as  possible. 

Science  has  undoubtedly  gone  far  in  the  successful  treat- 
ment of  disease,  both  as  regards  prevention  and  cure,  but 
it  is  powerless  before  those  other  evils  from  which  Buddha 
implored  his  father  to  grant  him  exemption — old  age  and 
death.  Science  has  attained  to  heights  of  knowledge 
undreamed  of  by  Buddha's  father,  King  Couddhodana, 
and  yet  it  knows  no  more  than  he  did  with  regard  to  the 
problem  of  old  age  and  death.  Like  the  king,  science  can 
but  reply  to.  its  questioners  :  "You  ask  the  impossible. 
I  cannot  help  you  !  " 

Not  only  is  no  remedy  for  old  age  known  to  science, 
but  little  or  nothing  is  known  with  regard  to  that  period 
in  the  lives  of  men  and  animals.  It  was  no  easy  task  to 
compress  an  account  of  the  present  position  of  medicine 
within  a  few  pages,  the  subject  matter  being  overwhelming 
in  quantity.  With  regard  to  old  age  it  is  quite  the  contrary, 
our  knowledge  being  so  limited  that  the  subject  may  be 
dealt  with  in  a  few  lines.  With  the  advance  of  years,  man 
and  the  higher  animals  undergo  important  modifications. 
They  become  weaker,  the  body  shrinks,  the  hair  whitens, 
and  the  teeth  deacy,  in  fact,  all  the  phenomena  connected 
with  senile  decay  manifest  themselves. 

At  this  period  of  life  which  overtakes  various  species 
of  animals  at  different  ages,  the  body  becomes  an  easy 
prey  to  pernicious  influences  and  diseases.  The  direct  cause 
of  death  cannot  always  be  determined,  and  is  attributed 
to  the  general  breaking  up  of  the  system  which  we  call 
natural  death.  The  first  question  which  presents  itself 
to  the  scientific  mind  is  whether  this  degeneration  or  senile 
decay  is  proper  only  to  man  and  the  higher  animals,  or  is 


230 


THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 


common  to  all  forms  of  life.  We  have  all  seen  very  old 
trees,  the  appearance  of  which  proclaims  their  age.  The 
trunk  is  decayed,  the  bark  gnarled,  the  branches  shrivelled, 
and  the  leaves  scanty.  Some  kinds  of  trees  live  for  hun- 
dreds— possibly  thousands — of  years,  while  others  age  with 
comparative  rapidity.  Senile  decay  is  not 
unknown  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  its 
presence  is  suspected  even  among  creatures 
of  very  simple  organisation  belonging  to 
the  group  of  infusoria.  These  creatures 
may  be  reared  with  ease  in  vessels  con- 
taining macerations  of  chopped  hay  or 
leaves.  They  multiply  by  means  of  divi- 
sion (Fig.  12),  an  operation  which  takes 
place  at  very  short  intervals,  some  of 
them  dividing  nearly  every  hour.  Owing 
to  this  rapid  multiplication  the  vessels 
soon  become  full  of  a  mass  of  infusoria. 
M.  Maupas,*  a  very  distinguished  zoolo- 
gist, observed  that  the  infusoria  became 
FIG.  12.  Paramecium  smaller  and  smaller  after  a  number  of 
about  to  divide  in  two.  generations,  exhausting  themselves,  as  it 
were,  and  perishing  unless  two  individuals  succeed  in 
uniting.  This  process  of  "conjugation"  (Fig.  13),  involves 
an  exchange  of  portions  of  the  bodies  of  the  two  creatures 
and  brings  about  a  complete  rejuvenescence  of  the  two 
individuals.  After  conjugation,  a  process  essentially  similar 
to  the  details  of  sexual  fertilisation,  the  infusoria  resume 
the  normal  appearance  and  again  become  capable  of  repro- 
duction by  simple  division  for  many  generations. 

The  periodical  debility,  which  precedes  conjugation  is, 

*  "  Le  Rajeunissement  Kariogamique  chez  les  Cilles,"  "  Archives 
de  Zoologie  Experimentale,"  1899. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD  AGE     231 

according  to  Maupas,  an  instance  of  senile  degeneration 
among  infusoria.  He  has  recognised  its  existence  in  the 
case  of  many  species  of  the  higher  infusoria  (Ciliata),  but 
while  this  phenomenon  has  "been  observed  in  the  case  of 
many  other  simple  organisms,  it  cannot  be  set  down  as 
universal  among  microscopic  beings.  Among  bacteria,  a 
group  that  includes  the  greater  number  of  pathogenic  organ-' 
isms,  conjugation  has  been  very 
rarely  observed.  Even  the  largest 
kinds,  such  as,  for  instance,  the 
anthrax  bacillus,  may  be  propa- 
gated for  a  long  series  of  genera- 
tions without  the  occurrence  of 
conjugation. 

Even  in  the  case  of  the  infusoria 
which  by  means  of  the  process  of 
conjugation   can  reproduce  indefi- 
nitely,   the     preconjugal    debility 
cannot  be  identified  with  the  senile 
degeneration  of  human  beings,  the  FIG.  13.  Conjugation  of  two  Para- 
higher  animals  and   trees.     In  all    mecia  (after  BUtschli)* 
these  debility  is  the  antecedent,  not  of  conjugation  and 
rejuvenescence,  but  of  the  end  of  life. 

Another  important  difference  is  that  in  the  case  of  infu- 
soria the  preconjugal  debility  does  not  occur  in  every 
individual,  as  is  the  case  with  the  animals  and  plants  which 
display  real  old  age.  In  the  infusoria  an  indefinite  number 
of  generations  occur  between  the  individuals  that  display 
debility  and  those  that  are  ready  for  conjugation. 

If,  in  spite  of  these  differences,  we  were  to  insist  on  the 
existence  of  an  essential  resemblance  between  senile  degen- 
eration in  man  and  preconjugal  debility  in  infusoria,  it 
would  be  enough  to  reflect  on  the  result  of  applying  to  the 


232  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

case  of  man  what  is  an  infallible  remedy  in  the  case  of  the 
infusoria.  For  conjugation  brings  about  a  real  rejuven- 
escence of  the  infusoria  and  a  similar  event  in  the  case 
of  man  would  only  increase  the  debility.  Moreover, 
according  to  recent  investigations  of  Calkins,*  infusoria, 
weakened  by  degeneration,  may  become  young  again  not 
only  by  conjugating  with  their  kind,  but  by  the  addition 
of  bouillon  or  extract  of  brain  to  the  medium  in  which 
they  live. 

Real  old  age  is  a  phase  of  existence  in  which  the  natural 
forces  abate  never  to  be  renewed.  In  animals,  the  life 
cycle  of  which  is  very  definite,  the  signs  of  senile  degenera- 
tion are  not  visible.  Insects,  in  the  adult  condition,  very 
often  live  only  a  short  time,  and  die  without  displaying  the 
slightest  mark  of  age.  In  the  case  of  lower  vertebrates, 
old  age  is  little  known,  and  has  few  signs.  On  the  other 
hand,  mammals  and  birds  display  senile  atrophy  in  a 
marked  fashion. 

Some  species  of  birds  live  to  a  great  age,  longevity  being 
more  common  than  among  mammals.  Cases  in  which  birds 
such  as  geese,  swans,  ravens,  and  some  birds  of  prey,  have 
been  known  to  reach  the  age  of  fifty  years,  f  are  not  uncommon, 
whereas  such  an  event  is  very  rare  in  the  case  of  a  mammal. 
Even  small  birds,  such  as  canaries,  may  live  as  long 
as  twenty  years.  Parrots  are  especially  long-lived  birds. 
Cockatoos  have  been  known  to  reach  the  age  of  eighty 
years  and  more.  I  myself  have  had  opportunities  of  observ- 
ing a  South  American  parakeet  (Chrysotis  amazonica)  which 
lived  more  than  eighty-two  years,  longer  than  is  usual  even 

*  Biological  Bulletin,  vol.  III.,  October  1902,  p.  192  ;  "Archiv. 
fur  Entwickelungsmechanik,"  vol.  XV.  p.  139. 

t  Gurney,  "  On  the  Comparative  Ages  to  which  Birds  Live,"  The 
Ibis,  January  1899,  p.  19. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY    OF   OLD   AGE     233 

with  parrakeets.  Several  years  before  it  died  the  bird 
showed  unmistakable  signs  of  old  age.  It  became  less 
lively,  its  plumage,  although  it  did  not  whiten,  lost  much 
of  its  brightness,  and  the  joints  of  the  claws  showed  evidence 
of  the  presence  of  disease.  In  short,  the  parrakeet  was 
obviously  worn  out  and  debilitated. 

Mammals  show  the  signs  of  age  even  more  plainly  than 
do  birds.  A  dog  reveals  old  age  by  its  slow  movements, 
its  white  hairs,  and  worn  teeth.  The  appearance  of  such 
an  animal  is  never  agreeable,  while  it  is  often  dirty  and  ill- 
tempered.  Brehm  describes  the  old  age  of  a  dog  as  follows  : 
"  At  twelve  years  of  age  a  dog  has  grown  old,  and  his  gait 
and  whole  organisation  show  signs  of  age.  The  coat  is  no 
longer  glossy  ;  the  forehead  and  muzzle  are  grey,  the  teeth 
are  blunted  or  have  fallen  out.  The  animal  is  lazy  and 
apathetic.  Many  such  dogs  are  dumb  and  blind.  Dogs 
may  live  for  twenty,  six  and  twenty,  or  even  thirty  years, 
but  such  cases  are  most  unusual." 

As  the  dog  is  a  domesticated  animal,  it  might  be  argued 
that  its  old  age,  with  its  manifest  signs  of  decrepitude,  is 
the  result  of  the  artificial  conditions  of  its  life.  To  decide 
on  this  point  it  is  necessary  to  examine  an  instance  of  old 
age  in  a  wild  animal.  This  presents  certain  difficulties  since 
wild  animals  when  old  and  feeble  become  an  easy  prey  to 
carnivorous  enemies.  It  will  best  serve  our  present  purpose 
to  consider  such  information  as  has  been  collected  regarding 
the  period  of  old  age  in  anthropoid  apes. 

The  natives  of  Borneo  have  observed  "  old  orangs,  which 
have  not  only  lost  their  teeth,  but  being  too  feeble  to  climb, 
live  on  the  fallen  fruits  and  herbs."  *  Gorillas,  according 
to  Savage,  turn  grey  in  their  old  age,  from  which  has  arisen 
the  erroneous  view  that  there  are  two  species  of  the  gorilla. 
*  Huxley,  "  Man's  Place  in  Nature." 


234  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

In  their  wild  state,  monkeys,  like  ourselves,  are  subject 
in  their  old  age  to  various  distressing  ailments.  Senile 
degeneration,  then,  which  is  universally  looked  upon  as 
one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  life,  is  by  no  means  restricted 
to  the  human  race.  Old  age,  as  portrayed  in  the  Buddhist 
legend,  referred  to  in  chap,  vi.,  is  perhaps  somewhat 
exaggerated,  but  this  period  of  life  is  undoubtedly  charac- 
terised by  changes  of  such  a  nature  as  considerably  to 
affect  the  happiness  of  the  old.  Buddha,  being  a  pessimist, 
took  too  dark  a  view  of  this,  but  let  us  hear  what  optimists 
have  to  say  on  the  subject.  Max  Nordau,  a  doctor,  a 
writer  of  books  and  a  journalist,  says  :  "  Physically  speak- 
ing, an  old  man  presents  an  unpleasant  picture  of  decrepi- 
tude to  the  casual  observer.  Morally  speaking,  he  is  a  blind 
and  pitiless  egotist,  having  lost  all  interest  in  anything 
outside  himself.  Intellectually  he  becomes  feeble-minded 
and  narrow  in  his  views,  being  governed  by  antiquated 
notions  and  prejudices,  and  incapable  of  grasping  new 
ideas."  * 

It  may  be  objected  that  I  am  here  supporting  my  argu- 
ment by  quoting  from  a  writer  who,  in  his  capacity  of 
clever  journalist,  rather  forces  the  note.  Let  me  therefore 
refer  to  what  a  learned  physiologist  said  when  addressing 
a  serious  audience  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
truth  and  information  from  his  lips.  After  dealing  in  broad 
outline  with  the  physical  degeneracy  caused  by  old  age, 
Longet  f  draws  the  following  mental  picture  :  "  The  old 
feel  that  their  task  in  life  is  accomplished,  and  believe  them- 
selves to  be  universally  grudged  the  space  they  occupy  in 
the  world.  This  renders  them  suspicious  of  all  around 
them,  and  jealous  of  the  young.  Their  craving  for  solitude 

*  "  Psychological  Paradoxes." 

t  "  Traite  de  Physiologic,"  Second  Edition,  vol.  II.  p.  935. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY  OF  OLD   AGE      235 

and  the  uncertainty  of  their  tempers  are  due  to  the  same 
cause.  All  old  people  are  not  like  this,  of  course.  The 
hearts  of  some  remain  youthful  and  beat  strongly  within 
their  feeble  frames,  but,  as  a  general  rule,  they  are  morose 
and  a  nuisance  to  themselves  and  others,  excepting  when 
they  are  surrounded  by  their  children  or  grandchildren, 
who  like  to  listen  to  them  about  the  past,  and  who  make 
excuses  for  the  present.  Thus  -the  years  speed  onward, 
every  round  of  the  clock  bringing  the  end  nearer,  and  every 
hour  adding  a  new  wrinkle  to  their  faces,  some  fresh  weak- 
ness and  some  new  regret.  Their  bodies  .  .  .  become 
decrepit  ;  their  backbones,  too  weak  to  hold  them  upright, 
curve  over  and  bend  them  downwards  towards  the  earth." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  period  of  old  age  is 
sad,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  it  is  necessary  before  it 
can  be  understood.  Disease  can  only  be  successfully  dealt 
with  when  the  cause  of  its  presence  is  known,  and  so  it  is 
with  old  age. 

Is  it  possible,  one  might  ask,  at  the  present  stage  of  the 
world's  knowledge,  to  define,  with  even  approximate  accu- 
racy, the  characteristic  features  of  senile  decay  ?  The  task 
is  difficult,  for  although  the  subject  is  very  important,  few 
facts  have  been  collected. 

It  is  common  knowledge  that  the  flesh  of  old  animals, 
used  as  food,  is  tough.  An  old  fowl  cannot  be  compared 
with  a  tender  and  juicy  chicken.  Organs  such  as  the  liver 
and  kidneys  are  much  harder  in  the  case  of  old  animals. 
The  horny  flesh  of  old  animals  is  often  compared  with 
boot-leather.  Although  the  comparison  does  not  pretend 
to  be  scientific,  it  is  far  from  being  incorrect.  Boot-leather 
is  made  from  the  hides  of  animals  ;  that  is  to  say,  of  a  very 
resistant  material  that  is  called  "  connective  tissue,"  and 
which  consists  of  a  dense  mass  of  fibres,  mingled  with  the 


236  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

living  elements  or  "  connective  tissue "  cells.     This  tissue 
is  very  durable  and  so  is  employed  for  boots  and  shoes. 

The  infiltration  of  any  organ  with  connective  tissue  makes 
it  tough  and  unpalatable.  This  hardening  is  called  a 
sclerosis  (of  the  liver,  kidneys,  &c.).  In  old  age  many 
organs  exhibit  this  tendency  to  hardening  or  sclerotic  degen- 
eration. The  fact  has  been  known  for  long,  but  its  signi- 
ficance has  been  perceived  more  recently.  Demange,*  in 
his  monograph  on  the  organic  changes  associated  with  old 
age,  states  as  follows  :  "  Besides  atrophy  and  degeneration 
of  the  parenchymatous  elements,!  there  is  to  be  observed 
a  profound  change  in  the  framework  of  connective  tissue, 
which  serves  to  support  the  organs.  In  some  cases  the 
skeletal  framework  of  an  organ  becomes  more  conspicuous, 
simply  on  account  of  the  degeneration  of  the  cells  ;  this  is 
the  condition  usually  present  in  the  liver  of  aged  persons. 
More  often,  however,  the  connective  tissue  receives  some 
kind  of  stimulation,  which,  although  it  does  not  amount  to 
inflammation,  brings  about  an  active  growth  and  resulting 
sclerosis.  According  to  the  particular  case,  the  hardening 
occurs  in  the  form  of  isolated  patches  or  strands,  or  affects 
the  whole  periphery  or  even  the  depths  of  the  organ,  and 
smothers  the  higher  elements  in  its  meshes,  so  producing 
a  further  degeneration.  The  cellular  elements  disappear 
gradually,  connective  tissue  taking  their  place,  and  the 
change  may  be  so  profound,  that  as  in  the  case  of  the  pros- 
tate gland,  the  altered  organ  may  actully  transcend  the 
normal  size,  partial  or  general  atrophy,  however,  being  more 
often  the  result." 

*  "  Etude  Clinique  et  anatomo-pathologique  sur  la  Vieillesse." 
Paris,  1886. 

t  The  parenchymatous  elements  are  the  most  important  cells 
of  the  organs,  i.e.,  of  the  liver,  muscles,  brain,  &c. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      237 

Sclerosis  in  old  people  sometimes  takes  the  form  of  a 
hardening  of  the  liver  (cirrhosis  of  the  liver)  or  of  the  kidneys 
(renal  cirrhosis),  but  it  is  the  arteries  which  are  most  com- 
monly affected  by  it,  producing  a  symptom  of  degeneration 
which  is  called  arterial  sclerosis. 

Cazalis  long  ago  originated  the  oft-repeated  aphorism  : 
"  A  man  is  as  old  as  his  arteries,"  these  vessels,  by  means 
of  which  the  blood  is  distributed  throughout  the  whole 
system,  being  of  immense  importance  in  the  economy  of 
the  organism.  When  the  connective  tissue  is  so  freely 
developed  as  to  cause  a  hardening  of  the  arteries,  these,  are 
hampered  in  the  exercise  of  their  function  and  become  very 
brittle.  According  to  Demange,  all  the  special  modifica- 
tions undergone  by  the  body  during  the  period  of  old  age 
may  be  attributed  to  this  atrophy  of  the  arteries,  but  this 
theory  is  proved  to  be  an  exaggeration  by  the  fact  that 
post  mortems  on  the  aged  frequently  reveal  the  presence  of 
li.tle  or  no  arterial  sclerosis. 

It  might  fairly  be  supposed  that  the  hardening  seen  in 
many  organs  of  the  body  during  the  period  of  old  age  is 
universal,  and  lends  greater  strength  to  the  frame.  The 
bones,  which  are  separated  from  one  another  in  youth, 
become  welded  together  in  old  age  owing  to  ihe  calcareous 
deposits  in  the  joints,  and  the  ossification  of  the  joints 
between  the  vertebra  frequently  causes  the  backbone  to 
assume  the  appearance  of  a  continuous  bone,  the  greater 
part  of  the  cartilage  having  become  ossified.  In  spite  of 
this,  and  as  though  for  the  purpose  of  proving  how  physi- 
cally full  of  contradictions  is  the  period  of  old  age,  the 
human  frame  actually  becomes  lighter  and  the  quantity  of 
component  mineral  substances  becomes  less.  This  brings 
about  a  liability  to  fracture  of  the  bones  in  old  people. 
The  fracture  of  the  neck  of  the  femur  is  a  constant  cause  of 


238  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

death  in  the  aged,  as  occurred  for  instance  in  the  case  of 
Virchow,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  medical  scientists 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Is  science,  it  may  be  asked,  in  a  position  to  state  precisely 
what  are  the  principal  modifications  which  occur  in  the 
tissues  of  old  people  ?  At  the  International  Congress  of 
Medicine  held  at  Berlin  in  1890,  a  well-known  German 
anatomist,  Merkel,*  attempted  to  reply  to  this  question. 
Speaking  of  the  tissues  of  old  people,  he  tried  to  show  that 
certain  of  these,  such  as  the  skin  and  the  mucous  mem- 
brane (the  epithelial  tissues),  preserve  their  youthful  cha- 
racters to  the  end,  whereas  others,  such  as  the  connective 
tissues,  display  profound  changes.  This  essay  was  the 
first  attempt  to  form  a  picture  of  the  details  of  senile 
degeneration,  but  it  did  not  reach  any  simple,  general  con- 
clusion. 

Later  on,  I  myself  f  tried  to  complete  the  work,  and 
for  the  purpose  made  use  of  the  published  results  of  all  the 
investigators  who  had  studied  senile  degeneration.  I  gave 
a  summary  of  my  conclusions  in  the  following  words  : 
"  In  senile  atrophy  the  same  condition  is  always  present : 
the  atrophy  of  the  higher  and  specific  cells  of  a  tissue  and  their 
replacement  by  hypertrophied  connective  tissue"  In  the 
brain,  the  nerve-cells  disappear  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  cells 
which  subserve  the  higher  functions  such  as  intellectuality, 
sensation,  control  of  movement,  and  these  are  replaced  by 
elements  of  a  lower  kind,  in  especial  by  neuroglcea,  a  kind 
of  connective  tissue  of  the  brain.  In  the  liver,  the  hepatic 
cells,  of  great  importance  to  the  nutrition  of  the  organism, 
yield  to  connective  tissue.  In  the  kidneys,  that  tissue 

*  "  Bemerkungen  iib  d.  Gewebe  beim  Altern,"  "  Verhandl.  d.  X. 
Internal,  Medic.  Congresses."     Vol.  II.,  p.  124.     Berlin,  1891. 
t  "  Annee  Biologique  "  de  Yves  Delage,  vol.  III.,  p,  249.     1899, 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD  AGE      239 

invades  and  blocks  the  tubes  by  which  the  necessary  process 
of  eliminating  soluble  waste  matter  is  accomplished.  In  the 
ovaries,  the  ova,  the  specific  elements  which  serve  to  pro- 
pagate the  race,  are  similarly  eliminated  and  replaced  by 
granular  cells,  a  variety  of  connective  tissue.  In  other 
words,  a  conflict  takes  place  in  old  age  between  the  higher 
elements  and  the  simpler  or  primitive  elements  of  the 
organism,  and  the  conflict  ends  in  the  victory  of  the  latter. 
This  victory  is  signalised  by  a  weakening  of  the  intellect, 
by  digestive  troubles,  and  by  lack  of  sufficient  oxygen 
in  the  blood.  The  word  conflict  is  not  used  metaphorically 
in  this  case.  It  is  a  veritable  battle  that  rages  in  the 
innermost  recesses  of  our  beings.  Distributed  throughout 
every  part  of  our  bodies  are  certain  cells  which  fulfil  special 
functions  of  their  own.  They  are  capable  of  independent 
movement,  and  also  of  devouring  all  sorts  of  solid  matter, 
a  capacity  which  has  gained  them  their  name  of  phago- 
cytes or  voracious  cells.  The  function  these  phagocytes 
fulfil  is  a  very  important  one,  for  it  is  they  that  congregate 
in  vast  numbers  around  microbes  or  other  harmful  intruders, 
in  order  to  devour  them.  Effusions  of  blood  and  other 
elements,  on  penetrating  to  parts  of  the  body  where  their 
presence  is  disadvantageous,  are  absorbed  by  these  phago- 
cytes. In  cases  of  apoplexy,  where  blood  is  shed  into  a  part 
of  the  brain,  setting  up  paralysis,  the  phagocytes  cluster 
round  the  clot  and  devour  the  blood  corpuscles  it  has 
encased.  This  absorption  is  a  lengthy  process,  but  by  degrees, 
as  the  pressure  of  the  effusion  of  blood  is  removed  from 
the  brain,  and  paralysis  disappears,  the  health  of  the 
organism  may  become  completely  restored,  recovery  in  such 
a  case  being  due  to  the  work  of  the  phagocytes.  After 
childbirth,  when  the  uterus  presents  the  appearance  of  a 
great  open  wound  clotted  with  blood,  it  is  again  the  phago- 


24o  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

cytes  that  clean  it  and  re-establish  the  normal  condition.  It 
is  plain,  therefore,  that  the  part  played  by  these  cells  is 
beneficent. 

The  phagocytes  may  be  divided  into  small  active  phago- 
cytes, generally  known  as  the  microphags,  and  larger 
phagocytes  called  macrophags,  which  are  sometimes  active 
and  sometimes  still.  The  former,  which  are  produced  in 
the  marrow  of  the  bones,  circulate  freely  in  the  blood,  and 
occur  as  some  of  the  white  blood  corpuscles,  or  leucocytes. 
They  are  distinguishable  by  their  oval  shape  which  facilitates 
their  easy  passage  through  the  smaller  blood-vessels,  and 
allows  of  their  accumulating  in  great  numbers  in  the  exu- 
dations that  form  around  microbes.  These  exudations  may 
be  formed  extremely  rapidly,  and  so  may  arrest  infection 
in  the  case  of  many  diseases. 

The  absorption  of  extravasations  of  blood  and  the  heal- 
ing of  wounds  are  the  work  of  the  macrophags.  In  a 
general  way,  the  microphags  may  be  said  to  rid  us  of 
microbes,  and  the  macrophags  to  heal  mechanical  injuries, 
such  as  haemorrhages,  wounds,  and  so  forth.  Macrophags 
possess  a  single  unlobulated  nucleus,  and  occur  as  white 
corpuscles  in  the  blood,  lymph,  and  exudations,  or  as  the 
fixed  cells  in  connective  tissues,  the  spleen,  and  the  lymphatic 
glands,  &c. 

The  phagocytes  are  endowed  with  a  sensitiveness  of  their 
own,  and  by  means  of  a  sense  of  smell  or  taste  are  able  to 
recognise  the  nature  of  their  surroundings.  According  to 
the  impression  made  upon  this  sense,  they  approach  the 
object  which  arouses  it,  exhibit  indifference  to  it,  or  with- 
draw from  its  vicinity.  When,  however,  an  infectious 
microbe  finds  its  way  into  the  body,  the  microphags  are 
attracted  by  its  excretions  and  swarm  into  the  exudations 
surrounding  it.  The  macrophags  play  a  very  important 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      241 

part  in  bringing  about  senile  decay.  The  atrophy  ot  the 
kidneys  in  old  persons  is  attributable  to  their  agency  (Fig.  14). 
They  accumulate  in  large  quantities  in  these  organs,  cluster- 
ing round  about  the  renal  tubes  which  they  ultimately 
cause  to  disappear.  Having  appropriated  the  place  of  the 
renal  tubes,  the  macrophags  proceed  to  form  connective 
tissue,  which  thus  takes  the  place  of  the  normal  renal 
tissue.  A  similar  process  occurs  in  the  other  organs  that 


.'.©: 


FlG.  14.  Section  of  a  Renal  Tubule, 
invaded  by  Macrophags,  from  the 
body  of  an  old  man  ot  90  years. 
m= macro phag.  (From  a  pre- 
paration made  by  Dr.  Weinberg. ) 


FlG.  15.  Cell  from  the  brain 
of  a  woman  100  years  old 
being  devoured  by  ma- 
crophags. (From  a  pre- 
paration made  by  Dr. 
Philippe.) 


degenerate  in  old  age.  In  the  brains  of  old  persons  and 
animals,  for  instance,  it  is  known  that  a  number  of  nervous 
cells  are  surrounded  and  devoured  by  macrophags  (Fig.  15). 
Judging  from  the  investigations  mentioned  above,  I  think 
I  am  justified  in  asserting  that  senile  decay  is  mainly  due 
to  the  destruction  of  the  higher  elements  of  the  organism 
by  macrophags.  This  conclusion  has  been  confirmed  by 
means  of  direct  observation,  which  was  the  more  necessary 
as  it  is  contrary  to  the  opinions  of  some  biologists.  Mari- 
nesco,*  an  authority  upon  everything  connected  with  the 
nervous  system,  has  disputed  my  theory,  asserting  that 
*  Comptes  Rendus  de  V  Academic  des  Sciences,  April  23,  1900. 


242  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

the  destruction  of  the  specific  elements  in  the  nervous 
centres  of  old  persons  is  not  brought  about  through  the 
agency  of  macrophags.  In  support  of  his  theory,  M.  Mari. 
nesco  was  good  enough  to  send  me  a  series  of  preparations 
from  the  spinal  marrow  of  persons  of  very  advanced  years 
from  which  evidence  of  destruction  by  means  of  phagocytes 
or  phagocytosis,  was  completely  absent.  I  freely  admit  the 
absence  of  phagocytosis  in  M.  Marinesco's  preparations,  but 
these  were  derived  from  the  cells  of  spinal  marrow,  which 
is  much  less  subject  to  the  ravages  of  senile  decay  than  is 
the  brain.  Even  in  the  lower  portions  of  the  encephalon, 
senility  and  its  parallel,  phagocytosis,  are  uncommon, 
whereas  in  the  brains  of  old  persons,  which  are  more  generally 
affected  by  senile  decay,  the  higher  elements  are  clearly 
'shown  to  undergo  destruction  by  macrophags  (Fig.  15). 
The  same  phenomenon  may  be  observed  in  the  case  of 
parrots  and  dogs  of  advanced  age,  and  in  other  animals. 

So  universal  a  symptom  of  old  age  is  the  invasion  of  the 
tissues  by  macrophags,  that  it  must  be  regarded  as  of  im- 
mense importance.  In  order,  however,  to  determine  more 
precisely  the  nature  of  the  function  fulfilled  by  these  phago- 
cytes, it  was  necessary  to  select  a  specially  favourable  sub- 
ject of  investigation.  My  choice  fell  upon  an  examination 
into  the  causes  of  the  hair  turning  white,*  that  being  as 
a  rule  the  first  visible  sign  of  approaching  old  age. 

Hair,  before  it  has  lost  its  colour,  is  full  of  pigment  scat- 
tered throughout  the  two  layers  of  which  each  hair  is 
composed.  At  a  given  moment,  the  cells  of  the  central 
cylinder  of  a  hair  become  active,  and  proceed  to  devour 
all  the  pigment  within  their  reach.  Once  they  are  filled 
with  coloured  particles,  these  cells,  which  are  a  variety 
of  macrophag  (generally  called  pigmentophags  or  more 
*  "  Annales  de  1'Institut  Pasteur,''  p.  865.  1901. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      243 

properly  speaking  chromophags),  become  migratory,  and, 
quitting  the  hair,  either  find  their  way  under  the  skin  or 
leave  the  body  (Fig.  16).  Th  colouring-matter  of  the  hair 

is  removed  in  this  way      ^ 

by  chromophags,  leaving 
the  hair  colourless. 

The  process  by  which 
hair  becomes  white  is  of 
importance,  because  it 
shows  that  the  activity 
of  macrophags  is  a  domi- 
nant factor  in  bringing 
about  senile  decay.  The 
brittleness  of  old  people's 
bones  is  probably  due  to 
a  similar  cause,  i.e.,  to 
the  absorption  and  de- 
struction of  the  frame- 
work brought  about  by 
macrophags  invading  the 
layers  of  bone.  There  is 
still  much  that  remains 
unknown  in  this  subject, 
which  is  well  worthy  of 
special  research. 

The  activity  acquired 
by  macrophags  during  old  age  is  closely  connected  with  the 
phenomena  that  are  characteristic  of  certain  chronic  com- 
plaints. Sclerosis  in  old  persons  belongs  to  the  same  cate- 
gory as  organic  sclerosis,  which  may  be  set  up  by  various 
morbid  influences.  The  analogy  between  senile  decay  of  the 
kidneys  and  chronic  nephritis,  commonly  called  interstitial 
nephritis,  is  incontestable.  The  destruction  of  nervous  cells 


FIG.  16.  Hair  about  to  become  grey. 
Chromophags  transporting  the  pigment 
granules. 


244  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

through  the  agency  of  macrophags,  which  we  have  already 
mentioned  as  occurring  in  old  age,  is  equally  a  symptom 
of  several  diseases  of  the  nervous  centres,  such  as  general 
paralysis  of  the  insane.  Arterial  sclerosis  in  old  persons  is 
actually  an  inflammatory  disease,  similar  to  the  inflammation 
of  the  arteries  set  up  by  other  maladies. 

The  similarity  between  senility  and  disease  has  long  been 
recognised,  and  partly  accounts  for  the  repugnance  we  all 
experience  at  the  approach  of  old  age.  In  childhood  and 
early  youth  people  regard  themselves  as  older  than  they 
really  are,  and  long  to.  be  "  grown-up,"  but  having  once 
arrived  at  man's  estate,  they  do  not  wish  to  grow  old.  An 
instinctive  feeling  tells  us  that  there  is  something  abnormal 
in  old  age.  It  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  healthy 
physiological  function.  No  doubt,  because  old  age  is  the 
inevitable  lot  of  mankind,  it  may  be  termed  normal,  in  the 
same  fashion  as  we  call  the  pains  of  childbirth  normal, 
since  few  women  escape  them.  In  both  cases,  however, 
we  have  to  deal  with  pathological  rather  than  physiological 
conditions.  Just  as  every  effort  is  made  to  relieve  the 
sufferings  of  a  woman  in  labour,  so  it  is  natural  to  try  to 
suppress  the  evils  accompanying  old  age,  but  whereas  in 
childbirth  an  anaesthetic  affords  relief,  old  age  is  a  chronic 
malady,  a  remedy  for  which  is  much  harder  to  find.  We 
have  seen  that  in  old  age  a  struggle  takes  place  between  the 
higher  elements  and  the  phagocytes,  the  end  being  usually 
a  weakening  in  vitality  of  the  former,  while  the  activity  of  the 
latter  is  enormously  increased.  It  would  appear,  arguing 
from  this,  that  one  means  of  fighting  against  old  age.  patho- 
logically speaking,  would  be  to  strengthen  the  higher  ele- 
ments of  the  organism,  and  to  weaken  the  aggressive 
capacities  of  the  phagocytes.  Let  me  at  once  warn  the 
reader  that  this  is  not  presented  as  a  definite,  but  as  a 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY   OF   OLD  AGE      245 

possible  solution  of  the  problem,  and  is  offered  for  con- 
sideration like  many  other  hypotheses  on  scientific  questions. 
The  properties  of  cellular  elements  are  easily  changed  when 
subjected  to  various  influences,  and  it  is  therefore  not  irra- 
tional to  seek  some  means  of  strengthening  the  blood  cor- 
puscles, nerve  cells,  liver  cells,  muscular  fibres  of  the  heart, 
and  so  forth.  The  task  has  become  easier  since  the  discovery 
of  serums  that  have  specific  actions  on  the  tissues. 

In  the  third  chapter  I  stated  that  serums  were  known 
which  give  precipitates  only  with  the  blood  of  man  and 
of  his  near  relatives  the  anthropoid  apes.  serum  of 
this  kind  has  a  definite  specific  action.  Serums  may  be 
prepared  that  dissolve  only  the  red  corpuscles  of  particular 
species  of  animals,  and  that  are  without  action  on  the  other 
organic  elements.  It  has  been  found  possible,  even,  to 
prepare  a  serum  that  arrests  instantaneously  the  move- 
ments of  human  spermatozoa,  and  that  is  neutral  to  the 
similar  cells  of  other  animals. 

These  serums  are  all  prepared  in  the  same  way.  The 
cellular  elements  in  question,  spermatozoa  or  red  corpuscles, 
cells  of  the  liver  or  of  the  kidney,  taken  from  one  animal, 
are  injected  into  an  animal  of  another  species.  After 
several  injections  have  been  made,  the  serum  of  the  animal 
operated  on  becomes  active  with  respect  to  the  cells  intro- 
duced into  its  body.  These  serums  were  discovered  by 
J.  Bordet  of  the  Pasteur  Institute,  but  the  results  have 
been  confirmed  by  investigators  in  other  countries.  The 
serums  are  specifically  cytotoxic,  that  is  to  say,  they  poison 
particular  kinds  of  cells. 

Now  it  has  been  shown  that  such  serums,  employed  in 
small  doses,  do  not  kill  or  dissolve  the  specific  tissue  ele- 
ments, but  actually  strengthen  them.*  Here  the  case  is 

*  See  the  "  Annales  de  1'Institut  Pasteur,"  vol.  XIV.,  pp.  369, 


246  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

analogous  with  the  action  of  poisons,  such  as  digitalis,  which 
kill  in  strong  doses,  but  which  in  weak  doses  improve  or 
strengthen  the  action  of  certain  tissues.  In  accordance 
with  this  indication,  experiment  has  shown  that  small  doses 
of  a  serum  which  is  capable  of  dissolving  the  red  corpuscles 
of  human  blood,  actually  increase  the  number  of  those  in 
the  body  of  a  patient  treated  by  injections.  In  the  same 
way,  in  the  case  of  a  serum  large  doses  of  which  destroy 
the  red  corpuscles  of  a  rabbit,  small  doses  increase  the 
number  of  these  elements  in  the  blood. 

Here  there  seems  to  be  a  rational  method  by  which  we 
may  strive  to  strengthen  the  higher  elements  of  the  human 
body,  and  so  prevent  them  from  growing  old.  The  task, 
at  first  sight  indeed,  seems  an  easy  one,  only  necessitating 
the  injection  of  a  horse  (or  other  animal)  with  finely  minced 
atoms  of  human  organs,  such  as  brain,  heart,  liver,  kidney, 
&c.,  when  serums  could  be  drawn  off  in  the  course  of  a 
few  weeks,  capable  of  acting  upon  those  organs.  In  reality 
the  process  would  be  a  very  difficult  one  to  carry  out,  as 
human  organs  are  rarely  obtainable  in  a  condition  suitable 
for  injecting  into  animals.  Post  mortems  can  only  be  legally 
made  twenty-four  hours  after  death,  and  there  are  many 
other  obstacles  in  the  way  of  removing  organs  from  dead 
bodies.  Even  if  all  these  difficulties  were  overcome,  another 
difficulty  that  would  present  itself  would  be  the  experi- 
menting with  various  doses  of  cytotoxic  serums  of  various 
strength.  It  is  not  therefore  to  be  wondered  at  that  the 

378,  390,  402.  1900.  The  results  described  therein  have  been 
confirmed  by  Belonovsky  ("  Sur  1'Influence  de  1'Injection  de  Diverses 
Doses  de  Serum  Hemolytique  sur  le  nombre  des  Elements  du  Sang." 
Saint  Petersbourg,  1902),  who  has  found  that  there  is  an  increase 
in  the  amount  of  haemoglobin  and  of  red-blood  corpuscles  in  the 
blood  of  anaemic  patients  that  have  been  treated  with  minute  doses 
of  haemolitic  serum. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      247 

attempt  to  reinforce  the  higher  elements  of  the  human 
organism  will  require  much  time.  If  it  be  necessary  to 
strengthen  the  higher  elements  (nervous,  hepatic,  renal,  and 
cardiac  cells),  it  is  plain  that  they  undergo  a  progressively 
weakening  process.  It  would  be  of  the  highest  importance 
to  ascertain  the  cause  of  this,  for  the  knowledge  would  be 
a  guide  to  future  action. 

The  similarity  between  senile  decay  and  the  diseases 
entailing  atrophy  in  the  more  important  human  organs 
suggests  a  similitude  in  cause.  Scleroses  oi  the  brain, 
kidneys,  and  liver  frequently  originate  in  intoxication  by 
poisons  such  as  alcohol,  lead,  mercury,  and  so  forth,  or  the 
disease  may  be  induced  by  some  virus  the  virus  of  syphilis 
being  a  common  cause. 

The  immense  importance  of  venereal  disease  as  a  male- 
volent factor  in  the  phenomena  of  old  age,  is  especially 
manifested  in  arterial  sclerosis.  According  to  the  careful 
investigations  of  a  Swedish  doctor,  Edgren,*  published  in 
his  "  Monograph  on  Arterial  Sclerosis,"  one  case  in  every 
five  of  this  disease  is  caused  by  syphilis,  and  he  shows  that 
chronic  alcoholism  is  an  even  more  frequent  cause  (25  per 
cent.).  These  two  factors  when  united  are  responsible  for 
nearly  half  (45  per  cent.)  the  cases  of  arterial  sclerosis 
that  occur.  Syphilitic  virus  and  alcohol  act  as  poisons 
which  bring  about  first  degeneration  and  brittleness  of  the 
arterial  walls,  and  eventually  a  weakening  of  the  higher 
elements  of  the  organism.  The  phagocytes,  being  cells  of 
an  inferior  order,  are  less  sensitive  to  these  poisons,  which 
accounts  for  their  victory  over  the  poisoned  elements. 

Rheumatism,  gout,  and  infectious  diseases  only  play  a 
secondary  part  in  setting  up  arterial  sclerosis.  Edgren 
asserts,  as  the  result  of  very  careful  calculation,  that  in 
*  "  Die  Arteriosclerosis."  Leipzig,  1898, 


248  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

nearly  every  fifth  case  he  found  it  was  impossible  to  account 
for  the  origin  of  arterial  sclerosis.  In  the  majority  of  cases 
the  sufferers  were  elderly  persons  who,  according  to  Edgren, 
*'  were  afflicted  with  physiological  sclerosis."  * 

I  take  it  that  this  sclerosis  of  unknown  origin  was  by 
no  means  physiological  but  was  pathological  like  that 
set  up  by  syphilis  or  alcoholism.  The  question  then  arises 
whence  comes  the  poison  in  such  cases  ?  In  syphilis  there 
is  a  virus  of  a  definite  nature  to  deal  with,  which  causes 
infection  or  poisoning,  and  brings  about  arterial  sclerosis, 
general  paralysis,  and  other  serious  ailments.  Alcoholism 
is  a  poison  arising  from  fermentation,  excited  by  micro- 
scopical fungi  related  to  true  microbes.  Instances  of 
arterial  sclerosis  which  are  due  neither  to  syphilis  nor  to 
alcohol  poisoning  nor  to  any  other  known  cause,  can  only 
be  accounted  for  as  probably  arising  from  poisoning  set  up 
by  the  mass  of  microbes  congregated  in  the  human  intes- 
tines. Among  these  microbes  there  may  be  some  that  are 
harmless,  and  possibly  even  beneficial,  but  there  are  un- 
doubtedly a  great  number  the  presence  of  which  is  extremely 
prejudicial  to  health  and  life.  It  is  impossible  to  enter  into 
the  details  of  such  an  important  question,  and  a  brief 
mention  must  suffice. 

The  human  intestine  contains  an  enormous  quantity  of 
bacteria,  which,  according  to  the  recent  investigations  of 
Strassburger,t  increase  at  the  rate  of  128,000,000,000,000 
each  day.  These  microbes,  of  which  there  are  few  in  the 
digestive  portion  of  the  alimentary  canal,  are  very  numer- 
ous in  the  large  intestines,  i.e.,  in  the  lower  part  containing 
the  waste  material.  The  remains  of  undigested  foods  and  the 
mucous  secretions  form  a  medium  very  favourable  to  the 

*  Loc.  cit.  p.  1 1 8. 

t  "Zeitschrift  fur  Klinische  Medicin,"  vol.  XLVI.   p.  434.     1902. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      249 

growth  of  microbes.  This  bacterial  flora  constitutes  a  third 
part  of  the  human  excreta.  It  is  very  varied,  and  contains 
an  immense  number  of  different  species,  among  wln'ch  are 
bacilli,  cocci,  and  many  kinds  of  other  bacteria,  about  which 
little  is  known.  The  distribution  of  this  bacterial  flora 
shows  that  it  contributes  nothing  to  the  well-being  of  man, 
being  scanty  in  the  digestive  portions  of  the  body,  and 
abundant  in  other  parts  of  the  gut.  This  fact  alone  suffices 
to  refute  the  theory  of  those  who  attribute  great  functional 
importance  to  the  intestinal  flora.  This  theory  originated 
principally  from  the  fact  that  certain  animals  perish  when 
brought  up  under  special  conditions  protecting  them  from 
the  presence  of  microbes.  Schottelius  *  was  the  first  to 
try  the  experiment  of  rearing  chickens  in  a  cage  specially 
constructed  for  this  purpose.  The  chickens  hatched  out, 
and  lived  for  a  few  weeks:  then,  there  being  no  microbes 
within  them  and  only  sterilised  food  being  given,  instead  of 
increasing  in  weight,  they  became  thin  and  showed  signs 
of  starvation.  Schottelius  supplied  them  with  food  from 
which  bacteria  were  no  longer  excluded,  upon  which  the 
chickens  rallied,  and  soon  became  completely  restored  to 
health.  Madame  Metchnikoff  f  tried  a  similar  experiment 
with  tadpoles,  which,  when  kept  in  vessels  and  fed  upon 
bread  containing  the  usual  microbes,  developed  normally, 
but  which,  when  reared  under  conditions  entirely  free  from 
the  presence  of  microbes,  lived  on  for  some  months,  but  in 
a  degenerate  condition,  their  development  being  arrested. 

On  the  other  hand,  Nuttall  and  Thierfelder  J    succeeded 
in  keeping  alive  for  several  days  new-born  guinea-pigs,  the 

*   "Archiv.  fur  Hygiene,"  vol.  XXXIV.,  p.  210,  1898;  ibid.  vol. 
LXII.,  p.  48.     1902. 

f   "  Annales  de  1'Institut  Pasteur,"  p.  630.     1901. 

I   "  Zeitschrift  fur  Physiologische  Chemie,"  p.  109.     1895. 


250  THE   NATURE    OF   MAN 

alimentary  canals  of  which  were  free  from  microbes,  and 
which  were  fed  only  on  absolutely  sterilised  milk  and 
vegetable  matter.  Notwithstanding  this  complete  absence 
of  microbes  the  guinea-pigs  developed  well. 

As  the  two  sets  of  experiments  were  conducted  under 
conditions  arranged  so  carefully  that  the  chance  of  error  was 
excluded,  it  is  important  to  try  to  reconcile  the  apparently 
contradictory  results.  There  is  one  point  common  to  these 
three  experiments,  i.e.,  that  they  were  all  executed  upon 
newly  born  creatures.  Now  it  is  well  known  that  at  birth 
the  digestive  juices  are  often  very  imperfectly  secreted.  In 
the  case  of  the  guinea-pigs,  these  juices  sufficed  in  quantity 
for  the  digestion  of  the  diet  provided,  whereas  in  the  cases 
of  the  chickens  and  the  tadpoles,  the  digestive  juices  were 
incapable  of  fulfilling  their  function  satisfactorily,  and  the 
introduction  of  microbes  endowed  with  considerable  diges- 
tive capacity  into  the  intestines  compensated  for  the 
functional  inefficiency  of  the  gastric  juices.  In  addition  to 
the  guinea-pigs  experimented  upon  by  Nuttall  and  Thier- 
felder,  there  may  be  mentioned  a  whole  series  of  lower 
creatures  such  as  the  larvae  of  mites  and  other  insects 
which  are  able  to  digest  such  indigestible  material  as  wax 
and  wool  in  spite  of  the  total  absence  of  microbes  within 
their  intestinal  tubes.  These  experiments  are  corroborated 
by  the  established  physiological  fact  that  the  gastric  and 
pancreatic  juices  of  mammals  easily  digest  the  most  varied 
kinds  of  foods,  even  if  treated  so  antiseptically  as  to  ensure 
the  total  exclusion  of  microbes  from  the  intestines. 

I  need  not  go  further  into  this  subject  as  the  facts  which 
I  have  cited  suffice  for  my  present  purpose.  The  complete 
atrophy  of  the  large  intestines  in  the  case  of  the  woman 
referred  to  in  chap.  iv.  proves  not  only  that  this  portion 
of  the  alimentary  canal  is  not  indispensable  to  healthy 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      251 

life,  but  that  life  may  be  maintained  in  the  absence  of  the 
flora  of  the  large  intestines.  And  this  really  is  the  centre 
of  the  problem.  The  useless  bacterial  flora  may  give  rise 
to  serious  or  fatal  maladies.  Wounds  of  the  abdomen  are 
really  serious  only  when  they  penetrate  the  large  intestines 
and  so  allow  the  entrance  of  bacteria  from  that  region  to 
the  peritoneal  cavity.  In  such  an  event,  the  microbes 
rapidly  multiply  in  the  organism  and  produce  a  grave  and 
frequently  mortal  illness.  So  long  as  the  microbes  remain 
within  the  intestines  very  few  of  them  get  into  the  circu- 
lation, and  with  these  few  the  organism  is  able  to  cope. 
While  most  of  the  microbes  are  confined  within  the  walls 
of  the  alimentary  canal,  the  soluble  excretions  produced 
by  them  pass  through  into  the  lymph  and  blood.  Quite 
a  number  of  different  facts  establish  this.  Thus,  for  instance, 
it  has  been  known  for  long  that  the  urine  of  human  beings 
and  of  animals  contains  a  series  of  substances  such  as 
derivatives  of  phenol,  indol,  creosol,  skatol,  and  so  forth. 
In  certain  diseases  the  amount  of  these  substances  greatly 
increases.  The  stagnation  of  the  contents  of  the  intestines 
increases  the  amount  of  phenol  and  indol.  Such  facts  and 
many  others  make  it  probable  that  these  substances  are 
the  products  of  the  bacterial  flora  of  the  intestines.  They  are 
absorbed  by  the  intestinal  wall,  pass  into  the  general  circu- 
lation, and  may  give  rise  to  various  symptoms  of  a  more 
or  less  serious  nature. 

Baumann,  who  has  done  much  work  on  the  subject,  has 
brought  together  a  series  of  arguments  supporting  the 
bacterial  origin  of  the  presence  in  the  urine  of  the  substances 
in  question.  Ewald,  working  from  another  point  of  view 
has  obtained  strong  confirmation  of  Baumann's  suggestions. 
He  had  the  opportunity  of  making  observations  on  a  female 
patient,  in  whom,  on  account  of  a  strangulated  hernia,  an 


252  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

intestinal  fistula  was  established.  Throughout  the  time 
during  which  the  large  intestines  were  inactive,  the  urine 
contained  neither  phenol  nor  indol.  But  as  soon  as  the 
fistula  was  closed  and  communication  with  the  large  intestine 
had  been  re-established,  phenol  and  indol  reappeared  in  the 
excreta.  Ewald  formed  the  opinion,  therefore,  that  these 
substances  were  products  of  the  large  intestine. 

I  need  not  weary  the  reader  with  more  of  the  facts  serving 
to  show  that  the  bacterial  flora  of  the  large  intestines  is 
the  source  of  many  poisons  harmful  to  the  body.  It  is 
among  such  substances  that  we  must  look  for  the  slow 
poisons  which,  in  the  absence  of  syphilis  or  alcoholism, 
produce  the  arterial  sclerosis  of  old  age. 

In  the  fourth  chapter  I  gave  reasons  to  support  my  view 
that  the  large  intestine  in  mammals  had  been  developed 
because,  by  storing  the  products  of  digestion,  it  allowed 
them  to  run  long  distances  without  stopping,  and  so  was 
an  advantage  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Moreover,  the 
microbes  which  abound  in  the  contents  of  the  gut  make 
it  possible  to  use  certain  substances  such  as  cellulose, 
that  are  difficult  to  digest.  But  these  two  advantages  do 
not  count  in  the  case  of  the  human  race.  Man  does  not 
secure  his  prey  or  escape  from  his  enemies  by  the  rapidity 
of  his  locomotion.  The  great  development  of  his  intel- 
lectual powers  has  given  him  advantages  of  another  kind. 
Moreover,  by  the  use  of  cooking  and  the  cultivation  of 
plants  of  high  nutritive  value,  he  is  able  to  dispense  with 
the  digestion  of  cellulose. 

There  is  another  side  to  the  picture.  Ignorant  of  death 
and  of  old  age,  mammals  have  acquired  the  advantages  of 
a  large  intestine  at  the  expense  of  longevity.  I  have  already 
stated  that  birds  live  longer  than  mammals.  Birds  are 
practically  devoid  of  a  large  intestine,  and  maintain  a 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY    OF   OLD   AGE      253 

bacterial  flora  very  much  poorer  than  that  found  in  mammals. 
There  is  one  exception  to  this  rule,  an  exception  of  great 
importance.  Ostriches  and  their  allies,  the  largest  known 
birds,  are  characterised  by  absence  of  the  power  of  flight  and 
by  rapidity  of  terrestrial  locomotion  by  which  they  escape 
their  enemies.  These  are  the  only  birds  in  which  the  large 
intestine  is  well-developed.  The  duration  of  life  is  much 
less  in  their  case  than  in  that  of  smaller  birds,  such  as 
parrots,  ravens,  and  swans.  According  to  M.  Riviere,  who 
has  been  engaged  in  ostrich  farming  in  Algeria,  these  large 
birds  do  not  live  more  than  thirty-five  years.  The  mode 
of  life,  and  the  shorter  duration  of  life,  the  huge  development 
of  the  large  intestines  and  the  rich  bacterial  flora  found 
therein  make  the  ostriches  much  more  like  mammals 
than  birds. 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  many  birds  in  which  the  duration 
of  life  is  long  do  not  possess  a  caecum,  the  portion  of  the 
alimentary  canal  that  contains  most  bacteria.  Examina- 
tion of  the  intestinal  contents  of  parrots  shows  that  there 
exist  in  these  birds  very  few  microbes.  A  comparative 
study  shows  plainly  that  the  existence  of  an  abundant 
intestinal  flora,  useless  for  digestion,  helps  to  shorten  life 
by  producing  bacterial  poisons  which  weaken  the  higher 
elements  and  strengthen  the  phagocytes. 

The  human  race  has  inherited  from  its  ancestors  an  enor- 
mous large  intestine  and  conditions  favourable  to  the  life 
of  bacteria.  It  has  to  endure  the  disadvantages  of  this 
heritage.  On  the  other  hand,  the  brain  of  man  is  very 
highly  developed,  and  with  the  increase  of  intellectual 
power  has  come  a  consciousness  of  old  age  and  death.  Our 
strong  will  to  live  is  opposed  to  the  infirmities  of  age  and 
the  shortness  of  life.  Here  lies  the  greatest  disharmony  of 
the  constitution  of  man. 


254  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

If  we  desired  to  make  the  phenomena  of  old  age  physio- 
logical rather  than  pathological,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
reduce  the  evils  arising  from  the  presence  of  a  large  intestine. 
It  is  impossible,  I  may  at  once  say,  to  wait  for  the  operation 
of  forces  independent  of  the  human  will  and  that  might  lead 
to  the  suppression  of  an  organ  which  has  become  useless. 
Man,  guided  by  exact  science,  must  strive  to  accelerate  or 
anticipate  such  a  result.  In  spite  of  the 'progress  of  surgery, 
I  do  not  expect  to  find  in  our  time  that  the  large  intestine 
will  be  removed  by  operation.  Perhaps  in  the  distant 
future  such  a  proceeding  will  become  normal.  For  the 
present  it  is  more  reasonable  to  attack  the  harmful  microbes 
of  the  large  intestine.  In  the  varied  flora  of  that  region 
there  exists  microbes  termed  anaerobic,  because  they  are 
able  to  live  in  the  absence  of  free  oxygen,  obtaining  what 
they  require  by  the  decomposition  of  organic  matter.  Such 
decomposition  is  attended  by  fermentations  and  putre- 
factions, and  the  production  of  poisons,  such  as  the  alka- 
loids (ptomaines),  fatty  acids,  and  even  true  toxins. 

In  the  human  intestines  under  normal  conditions,  putre- 
faction occurs  only  very  slightly,  or  does  not  occur  at  all. 
But  in  intestinal  diseases  of  children  and  of  adults,  the 
microbes  of  putrefaction  multiply  abundantly  and  produce 
copious  secretions  which  inflame  the  intestinal  walls.  To 
avoid  these  diseases  of  putrefaction  in  the  case  of  infants, 
it  has  been  suggested  to  use  as  food  only  sterilised  milk  or 
other  foods  quite  free  from  microbes.  This  regimen  has 
proved  extremely  successful. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  factors  that  hinder  putrefac- 
tion, it  has  been  noticed  that  milk  putrefies  with  considerable 
difficulty,  whereas  meat,  preserved  under  the  same  condi- 
tions, decomposes  very  readily.  Investigators  have  attri- 
buted the  stability  of  milk  to  the  presence  of  casein  or  of 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      255 

milk-sugar.  However,  investigations  recently  made  by 
Bienstock  *  and  confirmed  by  Tissier  and  Martelly  f  have 
proved  the  existence  of  certain  microbes  that  hinder  the 
putrefaction  of  milk.  These  are  in  particular  the  microbes 
that  sour  milk,  i.e.,  cause  the  formation  of  lactic  acid,  and 
which  are  antagonistic  to  the  microbes  of  putrefaction.  The 
latter  multiply  only  in  an  alkaline  medium.  The  lactic  acid 
microbes  produce  large  quantities  of  acid  and  so  hinder  the 
multiplication  of  the  organisms  of  putrefaction.  Putrefaction 
takes  place  rapidly,  in  spite  of  the  presence  of  the  lactic 
acid  microbes,  if  there  be  added  soda  to  macerations  of 
meat  or  milk.  Such  facts  explain  how  it  is  that  lactic  acid 
frequently  stops  some  cases  of  diarrhoea,  and  why  treatment 
with  lactic  acid  is  so  useful  in  maladies  associated  with 
putrefaction  of  the  intestinal  contents.  It  makes  intelli- 
gible, moreover,  the  medicinal  value  of  fermented  milk. 

Rovighi,J  an  Italian  physician,  drank  daily  a  litre  and 
a  half  of  kephir,  a  preparation  made  by  subjecting  milk  to 
lactic  acid  and  alcoholic  fermentations.  He  found  that  in 
a  few  days  the  products  of  intestinal  putrefaction  in  his 
urine  either  disappeared  or  were  greatly  reduced. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  slow  intoxications  that  weaken 
the  resistance  of  the  higher  elements  of  the  body  and  that 
strengthen  the  phagocytes  may  be  arrested  by  the  use  of 
kephir,  or  still  better  of  soured  milk.  The  latter  differs 
from  kephir  in  that  it  contains  no  alcohol,  and  alcohol  in 
course  of  time  diminishes  the  vitality  of  some  important 
cells  in  the  body.  The  presence  of  a  number  of  the  lactic 
acid  bacteria  is  inimical  to  the  growth  of  the  bacteria  of 
putrefaction,  and  so  is  of  great  service  to  the  organism. 

*  "  Archiv.  fur  Hygiene,"  vol.  XXXIX.,  p.  390.     1902. 

f  "  Annales  de  1'Institut  Pasteur,"  p.  865.     1902. 

I  "  Zeitschrift  fur  Physiologische  Chemie/'  vol.  XVI.,  p.  43.    1892. 


256  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

But  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  introduce  useful  microbes 
into  the  body.  We  must  also  prevent  the  entrance  of 
"  wild  "  microbes,  many  of  which  are  harmful.  Soil,  espe- 
cially when  it  has  been  manured,  contains  large  numbers 
of  microbes,  some  of  which  are  harmful.  Bienstock  found 
that  the  soil  of  the  strawberry-beds  in  his  garden  contained 
the  bacilli  of  tetanus.  For  three  weeks  he  swallowed  some 
of  this  soil,  but  found  that  the  bacteria  were  destroyed  in 
his  intestines,  which  he  attributed  to  the  action  of  the  normal 
bacterial  inhabitants  of  the  alimentary  canal.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  if  this  arresting  action  were  weakened  the  body 
would  be  infected  by  tetanus  from  spores  of  the  tetanus 
microbe  swallowed  with  earth  or  strawberries  or  green 
vegetables.  Moreover,  besides  the  organisms  of  tetanus, 
there  are  many  other  dangerous  anaerobic  bacteria  in 
manured  garden  soil. 

Obviously  we  should  eat  no  raw  food,  but  confine  our 
diet  rigidly  to  food  that  has  been  thoroughly  cooked  or 
sterilised.  The  exclusion  of  "  wild  "  microbes  and  the 
introduction  of  beneficial  microbes,  such  as  those  of  lactic 
acid  fermentation,  must  be  of  great  service  to  health.  I 
know  of  individuals  who  have  derived  great  benefit  from 
such  a  regimen. 

Science,  even  in  its  present  imperfect  condition,  has  many 
weapons  by  which  to  prevent  or  at  least  diminish  the  slow 
and  chronic  poisoning  of  the  organism  that  leads  eventually 
to  the  degeneration  of  the  higher  elements.  When  these 
elements  are  being  destroyed  by  syphilis  or  alcoholism  the 
struggle  must  be  directed  against  these  evils.  It  is  long 
since  we  have  known  how  to  do  this  ;  that  success  has  not 
been  greater  is  due  to  the  carelessness  of  the  people  who 
are  concerned. 

To  strengthen  the  resistance  of  the  higher  elements  and 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      257 

to  transform  the  "  wild  "  population  of  the  intestine  into 
a  cultured  population,  these  are  the  means  by  which  the 
pathological  symptoms  may  be  removed  from  old  age,  and 
by  which,  in  all  probability,  the  duration  of  the  life  of  man 
may  be  considerably  increased. 

If  it  be  found  impossible  to  eliminate  all  the  harmful 
microbes  from  the  flora  of  the  intestines,  those  that  are 
refractory  may  be  rendered  harmless  by  appropriate  serums. 
We  know  already  a  serum  that  is  specific  against  the  microbe 
of  botulism,  an  organism  capable  of  exciting  serious  disturb- 
ance if  it  gain  entrance  to  the  alimentary  canal. 

Our  inmost  convictions  assure  us  that  life  is  too  short, 
and  since  the  remotest  ages  attempts  have  been  made  to 
prolong  it.  I  need  hardly  mention  the  quest  of  the  Middle 
.\ges  for  an  elixir  of  life,  but  many  thoughtful  men  have 
occupied  themselves  with  the  problem. 

Descartes,  who  was  deeply  interested  in  the  subject, 
believed  himself  to  have  found  a  mode  of  lengthening 
human  life.  Bacon  published  a  tract  on  life  and  death, 
and  in  it  gave  advice  as  to  how  old  age  might  be  reached  ; 
blood-letting  and  the  use  of  saltpetre  were  parts  of  his 
specific. 

One  of  the  oldest  methods  in  the  world  consisted  in 
bringing  old  men  in  contact  with  the  bodies  of  young  girls. 
David,  King  of  Israel,  employed  this  method,  which  at  a 
much  later  period  came  into  fashion. 

Eighteenth-century  quacks  proclaimed  a  number  of 
specifics,  among  which  was  the  "  holy  water "  of  Saint 
Germain,  an  infusion  of  senna,  merely  purgative  in  its 
effects.  It  is  certain  that  some  of  the  medicines  used  for 
the  purpose,  by  emptying  the  large  intestine,  decreased  the 
bacterial  flora,  and  so  checked  the  formation  of  the  poisons 
that  are  harmful  to  the  higher  elements. 

R 


258  THE    NATURE   OF    MAN 

Huf eland,*  a  well-known  German  professor,  published 
towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  work  called  "  La 
Macrobiotique  "  ;  or,  "  the  Art  of  Prolonging  Human  Life." 
This  treatise  had  a  great  vogue  in  its  day,  and  contained 
many  interesting  and  just  observations.  Besides  advoca- 
ting cleanliness  and  moderation,  Hufeland  advised  that  "  we 
should  use  vegetable  rather  than  animal  food,  as  animal 
food  was  more  liable  to  putrefaction,  whilst  vegetable  sub- 
stances contained  an  acid  principle  that  retarded  our  mortal 
enemy,  putrefaction."  f  Here  the  physician  of  a  day  long 
past  anticipated  one  of  the  discoveries  of  modern  science. 

In  our  time  scientific  men  have  not  ceased  to  concern 
themselves  with  the  prolongation  of  human  life.  Professor 
Pfliiger,  of  Bonn,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  living 
physiologists,  has  published  an  essay  J  in  which  he  gave 
the  results  of  his  inquiries  into  this  subject.  He  first  stated 
that  investigations  into  the  habits  of  those  who  had  attained 
a  great  age  did  not  give  information  sufficiently  exact. 
Pfliiger  laid  stress  on  the  means  of  avoiding  infectious 
maladies,  and  summed  up  as  follows  :  "  Finally,  I  can  do 
no  better  than  to  associate  myself  with  the  advice  given 
in  all  the  treatises  on  the  prolonging  of  life  :  avoid  the 
things  that  are  harmful  and  be  moderate  in  all  things." 

A  year  later,  a  well-known  German  physician,  Dr.  Ebstein§ 
published  a  very  careful  treatise  on  the  same  subject.  He 
had  been  struck  by  the  fact  that  among  those  who  have 
reached  a  great  age,  there  have  been  several  who  had  led 

*  "  L'Art  de  Prolonger  la  Vie  Humaine."  French  translation 
of  German  Second  Edition.  Lausanne,  1809. 

t  Loc.  cit.  p.  296. 

I  "  Ueber  die  Kunst  der  Verlangerung  des  Menschlichen  Lebens.'* 
Bonn,  1890. 

§  "  Die  Kunst  das  Menschliche  Leben  zu  Verlangern."  Wies- 
baden, 1891. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   OLD   AGE      259 

an  exuberant  life,  full  of  excesses,  notably  in  the  consump- 
tion of  alcohol.  None  the  less,  Ebstein  advised  either  a 
complete  avoidance  of  alcoholic  liquor,  or  at  the  most  an 
extreme  temperance  in  the  use  of  it.  He  prescribed  in 
addition  the  simplification  of  the  conduct  of  life  and  the 
avoiding  of  anything  that  is  unwholesome. 

Study  of  surh  works,  which  are  written  in  a  scientific 
spirit,  convinces  me  that  a  science  of  the  prolongation  of 
life  could  be  built  up.  An  exact  investigation  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  old  age  would  contribute  to  this  object.  At  any 
rate,  we  cannot  set  aside  as  chimerical  plans  to  make  old  age 
a  natural  process,  and  one  easy  to  bear.  I  believe,  moreover, 
that  attempts  to  prolong  life  deserve  to  be  encouraged,  the 
more  so  as  instances  of  longevity  are  already  numerous. 

Quite  a  number  of  cases  of  centenarians  who  have  pre- 
served intellect  and  vigour  until  death  have  been  recorded. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  relate  the  histories  of  these  persons, 
of  whom  some  attained  such  ages  as  120,  140,  and  even 
185  years  (Saint  Mungo  of  Glasgow).  My  friend,  Professor 
Ray  Lankester,*  thinks  that  such  unusually  old  persons 
are  monstrosities  comparable  with' those  who  have  attained 
a  gigantic  stature.  But  centenarians  are  more  numerous 
than  giants,  and  while  the  latter  exhibit  marked  signs  of 
pathological  weakness  the  former  surprise  us  by  their  health 
and  vigour. 

The  longevity  of  the  Israelites  recorded  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  well  known.  No  doubt  there  is  much  exaggeration 
in  these  na'ive  records.  Was  it  an  error  of  exaggeration  to 
impute  an  age  of  969  years  to  Methusaleh,  or  of  595  to 
Noah,  or  were  these  ages  reckoned  on  a  different  basis  ? 
Henseler  f  suggested  that  in  these  cases  each  season  was 

*  "  The  Advancement  of  Science,"  p.  237.     London,  1890. 

t  Quoted  by  Pfiiiger  in  :<  Ueber  die  Kunst  der  Verlang.,"  p.  14. 


26o  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

counted  as  a  year,  so  that  the  age  of  Methusaleh  was  really 
only  242  years,  a  length  of  life  not  so  vastly  greater  than 
ages  recorded  in  modern  times. 

There  is  evidence  to  show  that  in  somewhat  later  Biblical 
times  ages  were  reckoned  in  our  years.  Thus  in  the  Book 
of  Numbers  (i.  3,  20,  22)  reference  is  made  to  those  "  From 
twenty  years  old  and  upward,  all  that  are  able  to  go  forth 
to  war  in  Israel."  The  limit  of  age  given  shows  clearly 
that  the  years  counted  were  our  years.  This  interpretation 
is  supported  by  many  other  passages  in  the  Pentateuch, 
notably  where  annual  harvest  feasts  are  spoken  of.  We 
may  therefore  accept  as  probable  the  assignment  of  such 
ages  as  100  or  120  years  to  several  Biblical  personages,  such 
as  Aaron,  Moses,  and  Joshua.  And  the  words  put  in  the 
mouth  of  Jahveh  may  be  accepted  as  important  evidence  : 
*'  And  the  Lord  said,  My  spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with 
man,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh  :  yet  his  days  shall  be  an  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years."  * 

The  longevity  of  that  remote  period  must  have  surpassed 
the  age  of  the  present  time.  From  the  circumstance  that 
the  greatest  number  of  deaths  occurs  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years,  Ebstein  f  has  inferred  that  seventy  years  is  the 
normal  duration  of  life.  Although  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  duration  of  human  life  has  become  longer  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  we  must  believe  that  it  was  still  longer 
in  Biblical  times,  a  fact  that  is  not  particularly  surprising. 

I  have  called  attention  to  the  important  influence  of 
syphilis  in  inducing  premature  and  pathological  old  age, 
as  that  disease  is  a  chief  cause  of  arterial  sclerosis  and 
degeneration  of  the  higher  elements  of  the  body.  Syphilis 
has  an  influence  still  more  serious  because  its  effects  are 
inherited.  Now  although  the  Bible  refers  to  diseases  of 
*  Genesis  vi.  3.  f  Loc.  cit.  p.  12, 


SCIENTIFIC  STUDY   OF    OLD    AGE      261 

the  genital  organs  and  lays  stress  on  circumcision,  there  is 
no  direct  evidence  in  it  as  to  the  existence  of  syphilis. 
Ebstein,  in  a  treatise  on  the  medicine  of  the  Bible,*  is 
confident  that  there  is  no  reference  to  syphilis  in  that  Book. 
Moreover,  in  the  ancient  world  generally,  syphilis  was  either 
unknown  or  existed  only  in  an  attenuated  form.  Haeser,-}- 
the  author  of  the  best  modern  treatise  on  the  history  of 
medicine,  thinks  that  if  syphilis  did  exist  in  the  ancient 
world,  it  occurred  in  a  localised  form  and  did  not  become 
a  general  disease  of  the  system  as  is  the  case  among  the 
moderns. 

Humanity  would  make  a  great  stride  towards  longevity 
could  it  put  an  end  to  syphilis,  which  is  the  cause  of  one- 
fifth  of  the  cases  of  arterial  sclerosis.  The  suppression  of 
alcoholism,  the  second  great  factor  in  the  production  of 
senile  degeneration  of  the  arteries,  will  produce  a  still  more 
marked  extension  of  the  term  of  life.  Scientific  study  of 
old  age  and  of  the  means  of  modifying  its  pathological 
character  will  make  life  longer  and  happier.  Although 
modern  knowledge  is  still  imperfect,  there  is  no  reason  to 
be  pessimistic  on  the  subject  of  old  age. 

*  "  Die  Medizin  im  alten  Testament."     Stuttgart,  1901. 
f  "  Lehrbuch  d.  Geschichte  der  Medecin,"  vol.  III.,  p.  223.    Jena 
1878. 


CHAPTER   XI 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE    SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF 
DEATH 

Theory  of  the  immortality  of  lower  organisms — Immortal- 
ity of  the  sexual  cells  in  higher  organisms — Immortality  of 
the  cellular  soul — Occurrence  of  natural  death  in  the  case 
of  certain  animals — Natural  death  in  the  Ephemeridae — Loss 
of  the  instinct  of  preservation  in  adult  ephemerids — In- 
stinct of  life  in  the  aged — Instinct  of  natural  death  in  maa 
— Death  of  old  men  in  Biblical  times — Changes  in  the  in- 
stincts of  man  and  lower  animals 

FROM  what  I  have  said  in  the  last  chapter,  it  is  plain  that, 
perhaps  before  very  long,  it  will  be  possible  to  modify  old 
age.  Instead  of  retaining  its  existing  'melancholy  and 
repulsive  character,  it  may  become  a  healthy  and  endurable 
process  ;  it  may  also  be  that  the  duration  of  life  will  be 
prolonged.  However,  it  may  be  asked,  what  shall  we 
gain  by  attaining  the  age  of  100  or  120  years  instead  of 
70  or  80,  if  there  still  remain  for  us  the  appalling  fate  of 
the  inevitable  annihilation  of  death.  Marcus  Aurelius  said 
that  he  who  makes  a  long  journey  and  he  who  makes 
it  short,  alike  meet  death  at  the  end ;  and  that  once 
they  are  over,  three  years  or  a  century  are  much  alike. 
Such  assertions,  however,  do  not  take  into  account  the 
difference  in  the  values  we  set  on  a  thing  at  different  ages. 
A  man  of  the  age  of  twenty-five  years  and  one  fifty  years  old 
reason  differently,  and  are  affected  differently  by  the  same 
surroundings.  The  outlook  on  life  changes  in  the  same 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH        263 

individual  as  he  gets  on  in  years.  Young  people  judge  of 
their  impressions  by  comparison  with  their  ideals,  and  as 
the  latter  are  very  high,  they  are  dissatisfied  with  things 
as  they  really  are.  They  are  exacting,  and  discontented 
with  what  they  can  get  out  of  the  real  world ;  grown  up 
people  and  those  of  advanced  years  are  more  easily  satisfied 
because  they  have  a  clearer  knowledge  of  the  true  value 
of  things.  As  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  point  out 
in  a  previous  chapter,  the  young  are  more  inclined  to 
pessimism  than  the  old.  We  see,  then,  that  appreciation 
of  life  changes  with  age.  It  is  the  same  with  regard  to 
death.  It  has  often  been  said  that  life  is  only  a  prepara- 
tion for  death.  Cicero  said,  "  From  our  youth  upwards 
we  must  accustom  ourselves  to  face  our  last  moments 
without  fear.  If  not,  there  is  an  end  to  peace,  since  it  is 
quite  certain  that  we  must  die."  Philosophy  has  been 
called  the  art  of  preparing  for  death. 

Before  considering  in  what  direction  science  may  direct 
our  steps  towards  solving  the  problem  of  death,  which  in 
the  words  of  St.  Paul  is  the  "  last  enemy  to  be  destroyed," 
let  us  see  how  much  is  known  about  it. 

We  are  so  accustomed  to  look  upon  death  as  something 
natural  and  inevitable,  that  it  has  long  since  come  to 
be  regarded  as  inherent  in  organisms.  However,  when 
biologists  investigated  the  matter  more  carefully,  they 
failed  to  discover  any  proof  of  the  accepted  doctrine. 
Observation  of  members  of  the  lowest  grade  of  animal  life, 
such  as  infusorians  and  other  protozoa,  has  shown  that 
these  reproduce  by  simple  division,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  multiply  to  an  astonishing  extent.  Generation 
succeeds  generation,  with  the  utmost  rapidity  and  without 
the  intervention  of  death  ;  no  single  corpse  appears  in 
the  swarming  masses  of  animalculse.  From  such  facts, 


264  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

which  are  extremely  easy  to  confirm,  several  biologists, 
and  in  specially  Biitschli  and  Weismann,*  have  deduced 
an  immortality  of  the  unicelL.l  T  organisms.  When  an 
infusorian  has  divided,  each  daughter  organism  rapidly 
completes  itself  and  sets  about  again  dividing  in  the 
fashion  of  its  parent.  The  process  may  be  more  com- 
plicated, as  in  the  cases  where  a  single  organism  breaks  up 
into  several  portions  each  of  which  contains  an  essential 
part  of  the  parent  organism.  Many  unicellular  organisms 
reproduce  in  such  a  fashion,  and  as  each  animal  divides 
simultaneously  into  a  number  of  individuals  of  the  new 
generation,  the  individuality  is  destroyed.  It  is  possible 
to  admit  with  Gotte  f  that  such  a  process  is  natural  death, 
although  there  is  no  actual  destruction  and  no  corpse. 

In  any  event  it  cannot  be  disputed  that  lower  organisms 
are  not  subject  to  the  natural  death  that  comes  inevitably 
to  man  and  the  higher  animals.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  the  debility  of  infusorians  after  a  rapid  series  of 
divisions,  and  before  conjugation,  is  to  be  interpreted  as 
natural  death.  But  the  rejuvenescence  that  follows  con- 
jugation is  incompatible  with  such  an  interpretation. 
Moreover,  when  conjugation  does  not  occur,  and  the  debility 
leads  to  death,  the  deaths  must  be  regarded  as  accidental. 

The  theory  of  the  immortality  of  unicellular  organisms 
is  now  generally  accepted.  However,  there  are  animals, 
higher  in  the  scale  of  life,  to  which  natural  death  does  not 
come.  Among  these  occur  certain  forms  of  considerable 
complexity,  composed  of  many  organs  and  very  many 
cells,  such  as  many  polyps,  and  some  worms,  especially 
annelid  worms.  Some  annelids  (Fig.  17)  reproduce  by 

*  "Essays  on  Heredity  and  Kindred  Biological  Problems."     Au- 
thorised Translation,  Oxford,  2  vols.,  1889-92. 
|  "  Ueber  den  Ursprung  des  Todes."      1893. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH         265 

transverse  divisions  very  actively.  "  Throughout  the 
summer,"  said  E.  Perrier,*  "  the  Nai'dimqrpha  are  devoid 
of  genital  organs,  and  appar- 
ently (according  to  unpublished 
observations  of  Maupas),  they 
may  be  kept  alive  for  several 
years,  and  perhaps  indefinitely, 
in  this  sexless  condition."  This 
certainly  may  be  regarded  as  a 
case  of  immortality  due  to  the 
indefinite  power  of  regeneration 
possessed  by  a  complex  animal. 

The  facts  that  I  have  cited 
show  that  death  is  not  necessarily 
inherent  in  living  organisms. 
Naegeli,f  a  well-known  German 
botanist,  has  asserted  even  that 
natural  death  does  not  exist  in 
nature.  He  points  out  that  trees, 
more  than  a  thousand  years  old. 
perish  not  by  natural  death,  that 
is  to  say,  by  the  gradual  decay 
of  their  vitality,  but  by  some 
catastrophe. 

The  age  of  the  famous  dragon- 
tree  of  the  Villa  Oratava  at  Tene- 
riffe,admiredbyVonHumboldt,  Fiu  I7>_  Cte^Jferabout  to  divide 

Was  estimated  at   Several  thou-  into  four  (from  a  drawing  by  M.Mesnil). 

sand  years.      Its  trunk  was  hollow,  but  the  huge  monster 
continued  to  flourish  until  it  was  overthrown  by  a  storm. 

*  "Traite  de  Zoologie,"  p.  1713. 

t  "  Abhandlungen  der  k.  bayrischen  Akademie  d.Wissenschaften,** 
1865. 


266  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

If  was  only  by  a  catastrophe  that  the  long-lived  giant 
perished.  The  Baobab  is  reputed  to  live  for  five  or  six 
thousand  years. 

In  a  recently  published  essay,  Jacques  Loeb,*  a  dis- 
tinguished biologist  in  Chicago,  has  made  a  study  of 
natural  death,  and  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  there 
is  no  good  evidence  for  its  existence.  He  has  observed 
that  ripe,  but  unfertilised  eggs  of  sea  hedgehogs  (Echini) 
die  a  few  hours  after  they  have  been  discharged.  Loeb 
thinks  that  this  may  be  a  case  of  natural  death,  but  I 
cannot  agree  with  this  opinion,  as  an  egg  that  has  not 
been  fertilised  by  a  spermatozoon  may  be  compared  with 
an  organism  deprived  of  its  nutrition  and  so  dying  of 
starvation.  In  both  cases  death  is  purely  accidental  and 
could  have  been  avoided. 

If  natural  death  does  exist,  it  must  have  appeared  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  long  after  the  appearance  of  life. 
Weismann  has  suggested  that  death  arose  as  an  adaptation 
for  the  advantage  of  the  species,  that  is  to  say,  in  relation 
to  the  surrounding  conditions  of  existence,  and  not  as  an 
absolute  necessity  inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  living 
substance.  He  thought  that  as  worn  organisms  are  no 
longer  suited  for  reproduction  or  for  the  struggle  for  life, 
natural  death  was  due  to  natural  selection,  it  being  necessary 
to  maintain  the  species  in  a  vigorous  state  by  weeding  out 
the  debased  individuals.  But  the  introduction  of  death 
for  that  purpose  was  superfluous,  since  the  debility  caused 
by  old  age  in  itself  would  eliminate  the  aged  in  the  course 
of  the  struggle  for  existence.  Violent  death  must  have 
appeared  almost  as  soon  as  living  things  came  into  being. 
The  infusorians  and  other  low  organisms,  despite  their 

*  "Archiv  fur  die  gesammte  Physiologic."     Vol.  XCIII.,   p.  59, 

IQO2. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF  DEATH        267 

potential  immortality,  must  have  been  subjected  perpetually 
to  violent  death,  falling  victims  to  larger  and  stronger 
organisms.  It  is  impossible  to  regard  natural  death,  if 
indeed  it  actually  exist,  as  the  product  of  natural  selection 
for  the  benefit  of  the  species.  In  the  press  of  the  world 
natural  death  rarely  could  come  into  operation,  because 
maladies  or  the  voracity  of  enemies  so  frequently  cause 
violent  death. 

No  doubt  a  certain  number  of  deaths  are  recorded  in 
statistics  as  being  due  to  old  age,  without  visible  malady. 
Sometimes  decrepit  old  men  feel  no  pain  and  seem  to  fall 
quietly  into  their  eternal  sleep  ;  but  autopsy  reveals  serious 
lesions  of  the  internal  organs.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  even  such  deaths  are  in  reality  violent  and  are  usually 
caused  by  infectious  microbes.  The  general  effect  on  the 
mind  produced  by  examination  of  the  collected  facts  is 
not  an  acceptance  of  the  view  that  natural  death  is 
essentially  inherent  in  living  organisms,  but  the  production 
of  a  wish  to  discover  if  there  be  any  real  proof  of  its 
existence. 

For  some  time  natural  death  has  been  ascribed  only  to 
the  parts  of  the  body  that  are  of  use  in  the  individual  life. 
Those  cells,  the  function  of  which  is  to  secure  reproduction 
of  the  species,  are,  like  unicellular  organisms,  potentially 
immortal.  The  egg-cell  of  the  female  is  transformed'  into 
a  foetus,  and  so  is  the  starting-point  of  the  new  generation, 
while  the  sexual  cells  of  the  new  generation  give  rise  to  the 
third  generation,  and  so  on,  in  an  endless  chain  of  life.  The 
greater  number,  by  far,  of  the  eggs  and  spermatozoa  perish  ; 
but  their  death  is  not  natural  but  violent,  being  due  to 
harmful  external  agencies.  An  infinitesimal  minority  of  the 
sexual  cells  survive  indefinitely  in  the  successions  of  genera- 
tions. 


268  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

Scientific  proof  exists,  therefore,  that  our  bodies  con- 
tain immortal  elements,  eggs  or  spermatozoa.  As  these 
cells  not  only  are  truly  alive  but  exhibit  properties  that 
are  within  the  category  of  psychical  phenomena,  it  would 
be  possible  to  build  up  a  serious  thesis  on  the  immortality 
of  the  soul. 

Observations  on  protozoa,  and  especially  on  the  in- 
fusorian  group  of  protozoa,  show  that  these  simple  beings, 
each  of  which  is  composed  of  no  more  than  a  single  cell,  pos- 
sess a  high  degree  of  sensibility.  They  select  their  food, 
distinguish  living  from  dead  animalculse,*  seek  out  their 
mates  for  conjugation,  avoid  danger,  and  hunt  their  prey ; 
in  fact,  they  are  in  possession  of  a  set  of  qualities  that  must 
be  included  in  psychical  phenomena.  Although  such 
phenomena  are  very  much  lower  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
fusorians  than  in  the  case  of  higher  animals,  it  is  possible 
to  speak  of  the  soul  of  protozoa.  Moreover,  as  the  body 
is  immortal  by  reason  of  its  indefinite  power  of  reproduction 
by  division,  the  soul  also  of  these  creatures  is  immortal. 
However,  the  soul  is  so  primitive  that  it  is  impossible  to 
speak  in  definite  terms  about  it. 

As  the  sexual  cells  of  the  human  body  are  immortal, 
like  the  protozoa,  the  problem  arises  if  these  too  be 
endowed  with  an  immortal  souL  Our  existing  knowledge 
makes  it  impossible  to  doubt  that  ova  and  spermatozoa 
have  sensibility  in  a  degree  as  high  as  that  of  the  protozoa. 
The  ova  shed  secretions  that  arouse  the  sensibility  of  the 
spermatozoa,  and  the  latter,  directed  by  this  specific 
"  odour "  (the  occurrence  being  known  technically  as 
chemotaxis),make  their  way  to  the  ovum  and  penetrate  it. 
Some  substances,  arousing  the  spermatozoa  into  activity 

*  Salomonsen,  in  "Festskrift  ved  indvielsen  af  Statens  Serum 
Institut,"  vol.  XII.  Copenhagen,  1902, 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH         269 

and  movement,  attract  them,  others  repel  them.  The 
phenemona  of  chemotaxis  were  shown  for  the  first  time 
in  the  case  of  cryptogams  by  Pfeffer,  the  distinguished 
botanist,  and  since  then  the  male  cells  of  many  plants  and 
different  kinds  of  animals  have  been  proved  to  possess 
sensibility. 

When  ova  and  spermatozoa  succeed  in  conjugating,  they 
produce  an  individual  of  the  next  generation,  to  which 
they  transmit  what  Haeckel  has  called  the  "  cellular  soul."  ; 
This  soul,  then,  is  really  immortal,  inasmuch  as  the  bodies 
of  the  reproductive  cells  are  immortal. 

Although  it  is  true  that  our  bodies  contain  elements 
endowed  with  immortal  souls,  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  our  conscious  souls  are  immortal.  In  an  earlier 
chapter,  I  have  already  pointed  out  that  the  psychical 
phenomena  of  many  of  the  cells  of  our  body  and  the  cellular 
souls  of  these  are  outside  our  consciousness.  We  have  no 
consciousness  of  the  perpetual  battle  waged  by  the  phago- 
cytes against  the  microbes  that  endeavour  to  obtain  a 
foothold  in  our  tissues.  None  the  less  the  phagocytes  are 
elements  endowed  with  mobility  and  sensibility  and  possess- 
ing a  cellular  soul  like  that  of  the  protozoa. 

A  woman  has  no  consciousness  of  the  numerous  sperma- 
tozoa, with  their  cellular  souls,  that  enter  her  body,  nor 
of  those  that  fertilise  her  egg-cells  ;  she  is  even  without 
consciousness  of  the  much  more  highly  developed  soul  of 
the  foetus.  A  child  before  birth  possesses  psychical  qualities 
much  more  numerous  and  more  perfect  than  those  of  the 
reproductive  cells.  It  is  capable  of  responding  to  certain 
sensations  and  of  performing  movements.  A  child,  in  the 
later  months  of  its  prenatal  existence,  possesses  the  senses 
of  touch  and  taste  and,  within  limits,  the  sense  of 
*  "  Gesammelte  Populare  Vortrage."  Bonn,  1878, 


270  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

sight.*  This  soul  is  outside  the  consciousness  of  the  mother. 
The  mother  cannot  even  tell  by  her  consciousness  if  she  bears 
under  her  girdle  one  or  two  embryonic  souls.  And  so 
the  immortality  of  the  cellular  soul  has  no  relation  to  the 
problem  of  death. 

It  is  a  common  opinion  that  only  the  reproductive  ceils 
of  man  and  animals  are  immortal,  and  that  the  other 
elements  of  the  body  are  mortal,  the  latter,  if  they  escape 
violence,  dying  a  natural  death.  A  contrast  has  been 
drawn  between  the  mortal  cells  in  which  is  jesident  the 
life  of  the  body  and  the  immortal  cells  on  which  the  species 
depends.  However,  when  non-reproductive  cells  possess 
the  power  of  regeneration,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  their 
immortality.  When  a  polyp  or  a  worm  reproduces  by 
division,  a  large  number  of  cells  go  to  form  the  new  individual, 
and  these  cells  are  immortal  in  the  fashion  of  the  infusoria. 

Immortal  animals  occur  only  among  the  lower  inverte- 
brates. The  power  of  regeneration  fades  away  in  the  higher 
ranks  of  the  scale  of  life.  Whilst  worms  may  be  divided 
in  several  pieces,  each  piece  being  capable  of  regeneration 
so  as  to  form  a  new  worm,  when  molluscs  are  cut  they 
display  only  a  limited  capacity  for  regeneration.  If  the 
antennae  of  a  snail  be  amputated  they  will  be  renewed, 
but  if  the  whole  creature  be  cut  in  pieces  death  follows. 
Some  of  the  lower  vertebrates,  such  as  newts  and  sala- 
manders, can  renew  the  tail  and  the  limbs,  but  they  cannot 
reproduce  by  division.  Birds  and  mammals,  the  higher 
vertebrates,  have  very  little  power  of  regeneration,  and 
tail  and  limbs  are  never  reformed  in  their  cases. 

It  seems  to  be  the  case  that  the  advance  in  the  general 
organisation  of  animals  has  involved  a  less  in  the  repro- 

*  Preyer,  "  Die  Seele  des  Kindes,"  1884,  and  "  Specielle  Physio- 
logic des  Embryo,"  p.  547.  1885. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH        271 

ductive  capacity  of  the  cells  and  tissues.  Even  in  the 
highest  animals,  some  organs,  such  as  the  liver,  still 
possess  regenerative  capacity;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  cells  have  lost  the  power  of  regeneration  completely. 
The  nervous  cells,  in  particular,  which  are  the  highest  and 
most  perfectly  organised  elements  of  the  body,  cannot 
reproduce  them- 
selves. After  their 
initial  appearance 
in  the  course  of 
embryonic  develop- 
ment,they  pass  their 
lives  without  re- 
generating or  repf  o- 
ducing.  In  acquiring 
the  highest  quali- 
ties, that  is  to  say, 
their  psychical  acti- 
vity, they  have  lost 
completely  the 
power  of  reproduc- 
tion, the  distinctive  FlG'  l8'~ EPhemends- 
feature  of  immortal  cells.  If  cells  doomed  to  natural 
death  really  exist,  it  is  in  the  nervous  tissues  that  we  must 
look  for  them. 

The  existence,  of  natural  death  in  the  animal  world 
cannot  be  denied,  but  it  is  very  rare.  The  best  example 
is  that  of  the  curious  insects  known  universally  as 
ephemerids  (Fig.  18).  Swarms  of  these  delicate  and 
graceful  insects  are  to  be  seen  in  the  summer  months  round 
lights.  The  perfect  insects  emerge  from  water,  in  which 
the  six-legged  larvae  feed  on  the  organic  debris  contained 
in  fresh  water.  The  larvae  are  not  predaceous,  and  escape 


272  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

from  their  numerous  and  hungry  foes  by  agility.  They 
are  long-lived,  some  of  them  passing  two  or  three  years  in 
the  mud  of  streams,  and  in  the  end  become  winged  insects 
after  a  rapid  metamorphosis.  Near  Paris,  anglers  have 
a  popular  name  (manne,  manna)  for  one  species  (Palingenia 
virgo)  which  emerges  in  swarms  after  sundown  from  the 
waters  of  the  Seine  and  Marne.  The  swarms  fly  in  huge 
numbers,  like  heavy  snow-flakes,  for  a  very  short  time, 
and  then  fall  into  the  water  (Fig.  19).  The  flight  of 
these  insects  lasts  only  an  hour  or  two,  and  then,  in  an 
enfeebled  condition,  they  fall  down  in  vast  numbers.  They 
are  attracted  by  the  lanterns  lighted  by  fishermen,  and 
are  collected  to  be  used  as  bait.  The  life  in  the  winged 
condition  is  truly  ephemeral  and  lasts  no  more  than  a 
few  hours.  The  structure  of  the  insect  is  adapted  to  this 
short  life.  The  larvae  have  powerful  jaws,  used  in  the 
mastication  of  food ;  the  winged  insects  possess  only 
vestiges  of  jaws.  They  are  unable  to  feed,  and  so  are 
adapted  only  for  the  briefest  existence.  Their  hour  of 
aerial  life  is  devoted  to  love.  As  soon  as  they  emerge 
the  males  and  females  unite,  and  the  packets  of  eggs,  which 
are  deposited  at  once,  fall  into  the  water,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  the  young  larvae  hatch  out. 

The  mode  of  life  and  the  organisation  of  the  adult 
ephemerids  show  plainly  that  they  are  adapted  to  natural 
death.  Death  comes  to  them  not  because  they  are  without 
food,  or  beause  the  environment  fails  to  provide  something 
necessary  to  life,  but  merely  because  they  emerge  from 
the  larval  state  in  a  non-viable  condition,  without  the 
organs  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  life. 

Once  it  is  granted  that  natural  death  actually  exists, 
it  is  necessary  to  study  its  mechanism  as  closely  as  the 
existing  state  of  knowledge  permits.  To  exclude  the 


FlG.  19. — Swarms  of  Pa li ngen ia  virgo. 


274  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

possibility  of  the  death  having  to  be  interpreted  as  violent, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  know  that  some  very  rapid 
infectious  disease  does  not  attack  these  insects  as  soon  as 
they  emerge  from  the  water.  This  possibility,  although 
remote,  must  be  examined.  Instances  are  known  of  large 
numbers  of  insects  dying  very  rapidly  as  the  result  of  attack 
by  a  species  of  mould  which  causes  an  epidemic.  Every  one 
has  seen,  especially  in  autumn,  dead  flies  anchored  to  the 
window  pane  by  a  little  tuft  of  white  fluff.  As  so  many 
individuals  die  about  the  same  time,  we  might  be  disposed 
to  assign  the  fact  to  natural  death.  The  actual  cause, 
however,  is  an  infectious  and  fatal  disease  caused  by  a  para- 
sitic mould. 

The  occurrence  of  some  terrible  epidemic  may  be 
excluded  from  consideration  in  the  case  of  ephemerids. 
I  have  made  investigations  which  show  that  such  an 
epidemic  does  not  occur.  The  bodies  of  the  dying  ephe- 
merids contain  no  microbe  which  could  be  the  cause  of 
death.  Their  death  must  be  regarded  as  natural,  as  the 
result  of  their  organisation,  as  essentially  a  part  of  the 
nature  of  the  insects.  Among  the  cells  of  their  body  there 
are  many  active  phagocytes.  Is  it  possible  to  attribute 
death  to  ravages  that  these  cells  may  cause  among  the 
higher  cells  and  tissues  ?  Microscopic  examination,  so 
far  from  supporting  such  a  possibility,  shows  that  the 
organs  are  quite  normal  in  their  intimate  structure.  The 
brain  and  central  nervous  system,  the  muscles  and  other 
organs,  show  no  signs  of  that  invasion  by  phagocytes  found 
in  cases  of  senile  degeneration.  In  this  example  of  natural 
death  there  is  certainly  no  possibility  of  phagocytic  inter- 
vention 

Some  biologists  have  suggested  that  the  rapid  death 
of  ephemerids  and  of  some  other  insects  is  due  to  debility 


SCIENTIFIC    STUDY   OF   DEATH         275 

caused  by  the  great  effort  of  depositing  the  male  and  female- 
sexual  cells.  On  this  supposition,  the  case  would  be 
analogous  to  the  shock  which  is  sometimes  the  consequence 
of  a  surgical  operation.  This  hypothesis,  however,  may 
be  excluded,  for  among  the  dead  ephemerids  there  are 
many  males  that  have  not  united  with  females.  Among 
ephemerids  males  are  much  more  numerous  than  females  ; 
many  males  have  no  opportunity  of  undergoing  the  sexual 
shock  and  of  emptying  the  reproductive  organs,  and  these, 
none  the  less,  die  as  rapidly  as  the  others. 

As  yet  we  do  not  know  if  all  the  tissues  of  the  ephemerids 
die  simultaneously  in  natural  death.  Most  probably  the 
cells  of  the  nervous  centres  perish  first,  and  so  bring  death 
on  the  others.  The  investigation  ought  to  be  made. 

Death  comes  to  the  ephemerids  in  the  midst  of  love,  at 
the  moment  when  their  sexual  instincts  are  satisfied.  It 
would  be  very  interesting  to  know  the  sensations  of  these 
creatures  as  they  feel  death  come  on  them  in  the  act  of 
reproduction.  Naturally  it  would  be  impossible  to  obtain 
a  full  answer  to  the  question,  but  many  interesting  facts 
regarding  it  may  be  ascertained.  All  the  ephemerids,  not 
only  those  the  life  of  which  is  so  brief,  but  those  that  live  for 
several  days  (Chloe,  for  instance),  are  extremely  easy  to  cap- 
ture. It  is  unnecessary  to  take  them  unawares  or  to  use  a 
net  as  in  the  case  of  flies,  wasps,  and  many  other  insects. 
Ephemerids  may  be  taken  with  the  fingers  in  the  simplest 
way,  because  they  offer  no  resistance  and  show  no  desire 
to  escape,  although  they  have  six  legs  and  two  or  four  wings. 
This  is  not  an  isolated  case,  for  some  other  insects  (as,  for 
example,  winged  ants  and  aphides)  allow  themselves  to  be 
captured  with  the  same  carelessness. 

Although  the  adult  ephemerids  are  careless,  the  wingless 
larvae  are  timid.  When  a  tube  is  brought  near  them,  among 


276  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

the  water  plants,  with  the  object  of  capturing  them,  they 
rapidly  move  off.  It  often  requires  much  patience  and 
quickness  to  capture  these  larvae  (Fig.  20).  The  instinct  of 
preservation  of  life  displays  itself  by  rapid  flight. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  adult  insect  has  lost  the  instinct 
of  self-preservation.  If  it  be  touched  it  may  move  a  short 
distance  off,  but  it  does  not  take  to  flight 
although  its  wings  are  very  large,  and  its  body, 
which  of  itself  weighs  little,  is  still  lighter 
because  the  digestive  tube  is  filled  with  air  and 
not  with  food.  As  a  rule,  an  ephemerid  that 
has  been  touched  does  not  even  move  off,  but 
an  ephemerid  aU°ws  itself  to  be  captured  without  any  resist - 
(Chioerufuium).  ance.  It  would  not  be  accurate  to  say  that 
the  larva's  instinct  of  self-preservation  has  been  replaced 
in  the  adult  by  an  instinct  for  deatr^ ;  but  it  must  be 
admitted  that  the  instinct  of  preservation  has  been  totally 
lost.  The  lack  of  resistance  cannot  be  explained  by  any 
defect  in  the  organs  of  sense.  Not  only  are  the  eyes  of  the 
larval  stage  fully  preserved  in  the  adult,  but  the  adult  males 
have  enormous  eyes  to  enable  them  to  recognise  the  female 
in  the  turbulent  flight  which  takes  place  at  the  close  of  the 
day.  Ephemerids  of  all  ages  possess  well  developed  tactile 
organs,  and  it  is  thus  in  spite  of  a  highly  organised  sensory 
system  that  the  adults  offer  no  resistance  to  enemies. 

It  is  no  mere  accident  that  the  most  striking  examples 
of  natural  death  occur  among  insects,  for  these  creatures 
display  an  unusual  stability  in  their  cellular  structure  with  a 
corresponding  lack  of  the  power  of  regeneration,  in  these 
particulars  resembling  man  and  the  higher  animals.  The 
cells  of  the  nervous  system  are  very  complex,  and  are  well 
adapted  for  the  highest  function,  that  is  to  say,  the  psychical 
function.  These  highly  endowed  cells,  however,  are  devoid 


SCIENTIFIC    STUDY   OF   DEATH          277 

of  the  power  of  reproduction.  Many  experiments  have  been 
made  in  relation  to  this,  and  it  has  been  proved  clearly  that  in 
cold-blooded  vertebrates  the  brain  and  spinal  cord  with  the 
nerve  cells  contained  in  them  are  capable  of  regeneration, 
whilst  among  mammals  only  extremely  rare  cases  are  known 
in  which  there  has  been  any  regeneration  of  the  nervous 
elements.  It  is  to  be  expected,  then,  that  cases  of  natural 
death  occur  in  the  higher  animals  and  especially  in  man. 
However,  no  case  is  known  so  plain  as  that  presented  by 
the  ephemerids.  I  have  already  stated  that  of  deaths 
apparently  due  to  senile  debility  in  man,  a  large  proportion 
are  certainly  due  to  various  infectious  diseases  that  affect 
the  old,  such  as  pneumonia  and  nephritis.  Close  examina- 
tion of  the  tissues  confirms  this  conclusion,  for  the  destruction 
of  the  higher  elements  by  phagocytes  produces  what  is  really 
violent  death  and  not  a  natural  death  like  that  of  the 
ephemerids. 

Natural  death  in  man  is  probably  a  possibility  rather  than 
an  actual  occurrence.  Old  age  is  not  a  true  physiological 
process  but  exhibits  many  morbid  characters.  That  being 
the  case,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  seldom  ends  in  natural 
death.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  natural  death  occa- 
sionally occurs  in  very  old  men. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  estimate  the  natural  limits 
of  human  life.  Flourens  *  based  a  calculation  on  the 
duration  of  the  period  of  growth.  If  the  latter  be  taken 
as  one  fifth  the  natural  life,  then  human  life  ought  to  last  a 
century.  As  centenarians  are  rare,  the  vast  majority  of 
deaths,  which  happen  before  that  age  has  been  reached, 
must  be  regarded  as  violent  or  accidental.  The  rule  of 
Flourens,  however,  is  arbitrary,  and  there  is  no  evidence 
to  show  that  it  is  exact.  Probably  in  the  human  race,  as 
*  "  De  la  longevite  humaine,"  Second  Edition.  Paris,  1885. 


278  THE    NATURE   OF   MAN 

in  the  case  of  ephemerids,  the  natural  duration  of  life  varies 
and  cannot  be  expressed  by  a  definite  figure.  In  most  cases 
it  ought  to  be  more  than  a  hundred  years,  and  only  in  rare 
cases  ought  it  to  be  much  less  than  that  term.  Probably 
there  is  a  variation  in  the  duration  of  life  just  as  there  is  a 
variation  of  the  date  of  sexual  maturity  for  which  rules 
may  be  laid  down  but  not  without  anticipating  numerous 
exceptions. 

The  existing  pathological  character  of  old  age  vitiates  all 
conclusions  as  to  natural  death,  and  it  is  still  impossible  to 
be  exact  in  speaking  of  that  subject.  It  is  known  that 
certain  organs  and  tissues  remain  alive  for  some  time  after 
death.  In  the  case  of  certain  infectious  diseases,  the  heart 
may  be  removed  from  a  human  body  more  than  thirty  hours 
after  death,  and  if  placed  under  proper  conditions  will 
renew  its  life,  and  beat  for  several  hours.  The  white  cor- 
puscles, the  spermatozoa  and  the  cilia  of  a  corpse,  may  retain 
their  power  of  movement.  Does  this  also  happen  in  the  rare 
cases  of  natural  death  ?  That  question  must  be  answered 
in  the  future.  The  most  important  question  relating  to 
natural  death  is  the  following  :  Is  the  appearance  of  natural 
death  in  man  accompanied  by  the  disappearance  of  one 
instinct,  the  instinct  of  self  preservation,  and  by  the  appear- 
ance of  another  instinct,  the  instinct  of  death  ?  Do  the 
phenomena  of  the  ephemerids  give  us  any  indication  as  to 
this  ?  An  exact  answer  is  not  to  be  expected.  As  old  age 
is  generally  what  may  be  called  an  unnatural  phenomenon, 
it  is  extremely  rare  for  persons  to  approach  the  age  of 
natural  death  with  their  faculties  unclouded.  I  have  had 
under  observation  a  centenarian  old  woman,  who  still  re- 
membered some  incidents  of  her  youth  ;  in  her  the  desire 
to  live  was  still  strong,  but  her  intellectual  faculties  were 
partially  dim.  Moreover,  her  brain,  of  which  I  have  already 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH        279 

spoken  (p.  241),  showed  a  marked  degeneration  of  the  nerve 
cells  due  to  the  activity  of  macrophags. 

I  have  obtained  much  information  about  a  centenarian 
who  was  alive  in  Rouen  in  1900,  but  a  single  glance  at  her 
photograph  was  enough  to  show  that  she  no  longer  was  in  full 
possession  of  intelligence.*  She  was  infirm  in  many  ways. 
So  also,  -Chevreul,  the  celebrated  chemist,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years,  showed  not  the  faintest 
wish  for  death  ;  he  clung  to  life,  but  his  mental  powers  had 
grown  weak. 

The  cases  to  which  I  have  referred  are  typical,  but  there 
are  exceptions  worthy  of  close  attention.  Tokarski,  in  the 
essay  on  the  fear  of  death,  to  which  I  referred  in  the  sixth 
chapter,  quoted  the  case  of  a  female  centenarian  who  stated 
as  follows  :  "  If  you  come  to  live  as  long  as  I  have  lived, 
you  will  understand  not  only  that  it  is  possible  not  to  fear 
death,  but  to  feel  the  same  need  for  death  as  for  sleep."  A 
new  feeling  had  come  into  existence  in  the  very  old  person, 
a  feeling  incomprehensible  to  those  less  old.  Apparently 
this  was  a  case  in  which  the  instinct  of  natural  death  had 
appeared  in  a  centenarian  whose  mental  faculties  had  been 
retained  in  a  sufficiently  perfect  state. 

I  wish  very  much  that  I  had  myself  been  a  witness  of  this 
old  woman's  remarkable  instinct  in  even  one  case  of  the 
many  that  I  have  observed.  But  all -that  have  been  pointed 
out  to  me  as  subject  to  this  new  desire  have  turned  out  to 
have  been  possessed  of  very  different  ideas.  Some  were  old 
invalids,  weary  of  pain  and  ready  to  exchange  the  sorrows 
of  life  for  death,  but  who  would  have  preferred  to  be  healed 
and  to  live  on  in  comfort.  When  the  possibility  of  recover- 
ing health  was  suggested  to  them,  they  showed  signs  of 
pleasure  and  of  the  renewal  of  hope. 
*  Journal de  Rouen,  September  23,  IQOO.  Article  by  Georges Dubos^ 


280  THE    NATURE   OF   MAN 

Investigations  that  I  have  made  in  homes  for  the  aged 
have  led  to  negative  results  on  this  subject.  No  case 
showed  the  slightest  sign  of  the  approach  of  the  instinct  of 
death.  However,  I  have  learned  from  Dr.  Fauvel  of  one 
case  to  add  to  the  instance  noticed  by  Tokarski.  It  was  the 
case  of  an  old  lady  whose  health  and  circumstances  were 
comfortable  and  who  before  her  death  showed  a  real  desire 
for  it  and  stated  it  in  much  the  same  language  as  that  quoted 
by  Tokarski.  In  Fauvel's  case,  however,  the  old  lady  had 
reached  the  age  of  only  eighty-five  years.  It  seems  probable 
that  this  was  a  second  genuine  case  of  the  appearance  of 
the  instinct  of  death,  and  it  is  therefore  interesting  to  notice 
that  that  instinct,  like  the  sexual  instinct,  is  subject  to 
variation  in  the  date  of  its  appearance. 

In  my  search  for  instances  of  the  instinct  of  death,  I  made 
use  of  the  large  collection  made  by  Lejoncourt,*  but  found 
that  the  information  given  by  this  author  was  very  incomplete 
as  to  the  mode  of  life  and  the  last  moments  of  his  cases. 

The  Bible  testifies  to  the  frequency  of  old  age  in  ancient 
times  and  to  the  complete  preservation  of  the  faculties  in 
the  aged.  It  also  contains  some  references  that  may  be 
interpreted  as  instances  of  the  instinct  of  death.  I  may  take 
its  account  of  the  death  of  some  of  the  patriarchs.  "  And 
these  are  the  days  of  the  years  of  Abraham's  life  which  he 
lived,  an  hundred  threescore  and  fifteen  years.  Then 
Abraham  gave  up  the  ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old  age, 
an  old  man,  and  full  of  years. "f  "  And  the  days  of  Isaac 
were  an  hundred  and  fourscore  years.  And  Isaac  gave 
up  the  ghost,  and  died,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  people, 
being  old  and  full  of  days :  and  his  sons  Esau  and  Jacob 
buried  him."  j  "  After  this  lived  Job  an  hundred  and  forty 

"  Galerie  des  Centenaires  anciens  et  modern es.       Paris,  1842, 
f  Genesis  xxv.  7,  8.  J   Genesis  xxxv.  28,  29. 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH         281 

years,  and  saw  his  sons,  and  his  sons'  sons,  even  four 
generations.  So  Job  died,  being  old  and  full  of  days.""* 
It  is  probable  that  the  phrase  "old  and  full  of  days,"  which 
sounds  strange  in  our  ears,  simply  refers  to  the  instinct  of 
death,  developed  in  well-preserved  old  men  who  had  attained 
ages  of  from  140  to  180  years,  f  The  Biblical  phrase  is  not 
merely  a  commonplace  phrase  applied  to  the  death  of  cele- 
brities for  the  references  to  deaths  of  other  persons  were  put 
in  different  language.  "  And  these  are  the  years  of  the  life 
of  Ishmael,  an  hundred  and  thirty  and  seven  years  :  and  he 
gave  up  the  ghost  and  died  ;  and  was  gathered  unto  his 
people. "£  "  And  Jacob  lived  in  the  land  of  Egypt 
seventeen  years  :  so  the  whole  age  of  Jacob  was  an  hundred 
forty  and  seven  years. "§  "And  Aaron  was  an  hundred 
and  twenty  and  three  years  old  when  he  died  in  Mount 
Hor."  ||  "  And  Moses  was  an  hundred  and  twenty  years 
old  when  he  died  ;  his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural 
force  abated. "1  In  only  one  of  these  later  cases  had  the 
individual  reached  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
years,  at  which  age,  apparently,  the  instinct  of  natural 
death  appeared. 

It  may  seem  altogether  surprising  and  improbable  to  us 
that  an  instinct  for  death  should  arise  in  man,  since  we  are 
imbued  with  an  instinct  of  an  opposite  nature.  From  the 
facts  that  I  collected  in  my  sixth  chapter,  it  was  to  be 
inferred  plainly  that  the  desire  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death 
are  manifestations  of  an  instinct  deep-rooted  in  the  con- 

*  Job  xlii.  16,  17. 

f  It  may  be  that  the  great  longevity  of  many  of>  the  patriarchs, 
ending  in  the  appearance  of  the  instinct  of  death,  is  the  cause  of 
the  small  extent  to  which  the  idea  of  a  future  life  had  been  developed 
amongst  the  ancient  Hebrews,  (See  chap,  vii.) 

I  Genesis  xxv.  17.  §  Genesis  xlvii,  28. 

||  Numbers  xxxiii.  39.  U  Deuteronomy  xxxiv.  7. 


282  THE    NATURE    OF    MAN 

stitution  of  man.  That  instinct  is  of  the  same  order  as  the 
instincts  of  hunger  and  thirst,  of  the  need  of  sleep,  of  move- 
ment and  of  sexual  and  maternal  love.  The  devotion  and 
care  bestowed  on  their  young  by  female  birds  and  mammals 
are  known  universally.  And  yet  these  instincts  can  be 
reversed.  There  is  no  sacrifice  of  which  the  mothers  are 
not  capable  if  it  serve  to  save  the  life  or  promote  the  well- 
being  of  their  offspring.  Such  devotion  is  a  manifestation 
of  the  maternal  instinct,  which  is  one  of  the  strongest 
instincts  known  to  us.  And  yet  that  love,  so  tender  and  so 
absolute,  lasts  only  for  the  time  during  which  the  wants 
of  the  young  need  to  be  satisfied.  As  soon  as  the  young 
begin  to  be  independent,  the  maternal  love  changes  to 
indifference  or  to  dislike.  At  the  next  breeding-period, 
maternal  love  reappears  again,  so  that  there  is  a  periodic 
ebb  and  flow  of  the  instinct. 

The  new-born  babe  takes  an  instinctive  delight  in  the 
milk  of  his  mother,  which  seems  to  him  the  only  good  food 
in  the  world.  As  soon  as  he  can  show  his  feelings,  his 
intense  satisfaction  as  he  is  suckled  is  plain.  But  this 
instinct  lasts  only  during  the  period  of  lactation.  As  soon 
as  the  child  begins  to  take  different  kinds  of  food,  he  ceases 
to  be  pleased  with  his  mother's  milk,  and  may  dislike  it 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Several  adults  to  whom  I  have 
offered  human  milk  would  not  even  taste  it,  so  disgusting 
did  it  seem  to  them.  And  yet  the  taste  had  nothing  in- 
trinsically disagreeable  in  it.  Here  again  is  an  example 
of  a  strong  instinct  that  changes  completely. 

Children  often  eat  to  repletion  of  some  kind  of  substance, 
and  for  long  afterwards  that  substance  disgusts  them  instead 
of  being  coveted  by  them.  It  is  said  that  apprentices  to 
pastry-cooks  and  makers  of  sweetmeats  are  allowed  at 
first  to  eat  as  much  as  they  please.  They  soon  come  to  have 


SCIENTIFIC   STUDY   OF   DEATH         283 

a  profound  dislike  for  the  sweet  things  that  children  like 
so  much. 

A  mother  who  adores  her  child,  or  a  child  who  is  extremely 
fond  of  sweetmeats  cannot  understand  how  any  mother 
could  dislike  her  offspring  or  any  apprentice  have  a  distaste 
for  sweets.  In  the  same  way,  human  beings  full  of  the 
desire  for  life,  believe  more  easily  in  eternal  life  than  in  the 
possibility  of  an  instinct  of  death.  And  yet  the  instinct 
of  death  seems  to  lie,  in  some  potential  form,  deep  in  the  con- 
stitution of  man.  If  the  cycle  of  human  life  followed  its 
ideal  course  according  to  physiological  function,  then  the 
instinct  of  death  would  appear  in  its  time,  after  a  normal 
life  and  an  old  age  healthy  and  prolonged. 

In  reality,  human  life  is  subject  from  its  very  beginning 
to  the  pernicious  disharmonies  in  the  constitution  of  man. 
This  evil  influence  increases  with  the  passing  of  the  years 
and  leads  to  an  old  age  ruined  by  abnormalities.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  under  such  circumstances  men  wish  neither 
to  grow  old  nor  to  die.  Old  men,  in  spite  of  their  attach- 
ment to  life,  do  not  attain  the  capacity  to  know  all  that  is 
good  in  it,  and  die,  in  the  fear  of  death,  without  having 
known  the  instinct  of  death.  They  may  be  compared  with 
unhappy  women  who  have  married  before  their  sexual  in- 
stincts have  awakened  and  who  have  died  in  childbirth, 
without  ever  having  known  the  real  joy  of  loving.  Formerly, 
the  number  of  women  in  such  a  case  was  large.  In  some 
parts  of  Abyssinia,  girls  married  when  they  were  still  very 
young  and  before  their  physical  development  was  mature. 
According  to  Hassenstein,*  nearly  one  third  of  these  young 
women  died  in  childbirth.  They  quitted  life  before  they 
had  known  the  true  sexual  instinct.  The  advancement 
of  civilisation  and  of  medical  knowledge  has  greatly  reduced 
*  Ploss-Bartels,  "  Das  Weib,"  vol.  I.  p.  626. 


284  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

the  number  of  such  unhappy  women.  We  must  hope  that 
the  progress  of  knowledge  will  bring  about  a  similar  advance 
in  relation  to  the  instinct  of  death.  With  that  progress, 
the  number  of  men  who  will  live  until  the  instinct  has 
been  attained  will  become  greater  and  greater. 


CHAPTER   XII 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 

Disharmonies  in  the  human  constitution  as  the  chief  source 
of  our  sorrows — Scientific  data  as  to  the  origin  and  destiny 
of  man — The  goal  of  human  existence — Difficulties  in  the 
way  of  scientific  investigation  of  the  problem — What  is 
progress  ? — Difficulty  of  including  the  whole  human  race 
in  a  scheme  of  progress  and  morality — The  instincts  of  life 
and  of  natural  death — Application  to  real  life  of  the 
doctrines  set  forth  in  hits  book 

MAN,  who  is  a  descendant  of  some  anthropoid  ape,  has 
inherited  a  constitution  adapted  to  an  environment  very 
different  from  that  which  now  surrounds  him.  Man  is 
possessed  of  a  brain  very  much  more  highly  developed  than 
that  of  his  ancestors,  and  has  entered  on  a  new  path  in  the 
evolution  of  the  higher  organisms.  The  sudden  change 
in  his  natural  conditions  has  brought  about  a  large  series 
of  organic  disharmonies  which  become  more  and  more 
acutely  felt  as  he  becomes  more  intelligent  and  more  sensi- 
tive. And  thus  there  has  arisen  a  number  of  sorrows  which 
poor  humanity  has  tried  to  relieve  by  all  the  means  in  its 
power.  The  disharmonies  in  the  sexual  functions  have 
brought  into  existence  attempted  remedies  of  the  strangest 
kind.  The  greatest  disharmony  of  the  constitution  is  that 
of  the  morbid  nature  of  old  age  and  the  impossibility  of 
reaching  the  instinct  of  natural  death  ;  this  has  produced 
childish  and  erroneous  conceptions  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  and  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  many  other 


286  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

strange  doctrines  that  have  been  imposed  upon  us  as  revealed 
truth. 

Human  intelligence,  in  the  course  of  its  progressive  evolu- 
tion, has  rebelled  against  these  na'ive  palliatives.  Finding 
the  restoration  of  the  much-desired  harmony  beyond  its 
power,  humanity  became  resigned  to  a  passive  fatalism, 
and  believed  even  that  the  existence  of  man  was  a  kind 
of  bad  joke,  a  faux  pas  in  the  evolution  of  sentient  organisms. 
Exact  science,  developing  slowly,  but  surely,  has  at  last 
tried  to  master  the  situation.  Moving  step  by  step,  passing 
from  the  simple  to  the  complex  and  from  the  particular 
to  the  general,  science  has  established  a  set  of  truths  which 
all  the  world  must  accept. 

Humanity  in  its  misery  has  put  question  after  question 
to  science,  and  has  lost  patience  at  the  slowness  of  the 
advance  of  knowledge.  It  has  declared  that  the  answers 
already  found  by  science  are  futile  and  of  little  interest. 
From  time  to  time  it  has  preferred  to  turn  back,  and  to 
delude  itself  with  the  beautiful  mirages  offered  by  religions 
and  systems  of  philosophy. 

But  science,  confident  of  its  methods,  has  quietly  con- 
tinued to  work.  Little  by  little,  the  answers  to  some  of 
the  questions  that  have  been  set  have  begun  to  appear. 
Whence  do  we  come  ?  science  has  been  asked  unceasingly. 
Is  not  man  a  being  unlike  other  beings,  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  animated  with  the  divine  breath,  and  irnmortal  ? 
No,  science  answers.  Man  is  a  kind  of  miscarriage  of  an 
ape,  endowed  with  profound  intelligence  and  capable  of 
great  progress.  His  brain  is  the  seat  of  processes  that  are 
very  complex,  and  much  higher  than  those  of  other  animals, 
but  these  functions  are  incompatible  with  the  existence 
of  an  immortal  soul. 

Whither  are  we  going  ?     That  question  above  all  other 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS         287 

things  has  absorbed  the  attention  of  man,  and  naturally 
so,  for  it  is  less  important  to  know  our  origin  than  to  know 
our  destiny.  Does  death  mean  absolute  extinction,  or  is 
it  a  gateway  leading  to  a  new  and  everlasting  life  ?  And 
if  the  latter  alternative  be  untrue,  how  are  we  to  face  in- 
evitable death  ? 

Science  cannot  admit  the  immortality  of  the  conscious 
soul,  for  consciousness  is  a  function  of  special  elements  in 
the  body  that  certainly  cannot  live  for  ever.  Immortality 
exists  only  for  very  low  organisms  that  renew  their  lives 
by  repeated  divisions  with  complete  regeneration,  and 
that  have  no  highly  developed  consciousness. 

Death  brings  absolute  extinction,  and  it  seems  unbearable 
because  of  the  condition  in  which  it  surprises  us.  It  comes 
before  man  has  finished  his  physiological  development, 
and  when  the  instinct  of  life  is  still  strong. 

Ever  since  man  has  begun  to  look  a  little  beyond  his 
daily  and  immediate  wants,  he  has  asked  if  there  be  a  goal  for 
his  life,  and  what  that  goal  may  be.  As  he  has  generally 
failed  to  find  such  a  goal,  he  has  gone  the  length  of  believing 
life  to  be  a  mere  accident,  and  of  thinking  it  idle  to  seek  a 
goal.  He  has  formed  depressing  and  pessimistic  conclu- 
sions. Humanity  may  be  compared  to  a  boy  that  has  not 
yet  acquired  the  sexual  instinct,  but  has  asked  the  meaning 
of  the  reproductive  organs.  As  these  organs  play  no  part 
in  the  functions  of  his  life,  he  might  easily  think  their 
existence  not  only  absolutely  useless  but  absurd. 

Man,  because  of  the  fundamental  disharmonies  in  his 
constitution,  does  not  develop  normally.  The  earlier 
phases  of  his  development  are  passed  through  with  little 
trouble ;  but,  after  maturity,  greater  or  lesser  abnormality 
begins,  and  ends  in  old  age  and  death  that  are  pre- 
mature and  pathological.  Is  not  the  goal  of  existence  the 


288  THE   NATURE  OF    MAN 

accomplishment  of  a  complete  and  physiological  cycle, 
in  which  occurs  a  normal  old  age  ending  in  the  loss  of  the 
instinct  of  life  and  the  appearance  of  the  instinct  of  death. 

The  pessimistic  school  has  often  spoken  of  death  as  the 
true  goal  of  human  life.  Schopenhauer,*  for  instance, 
said  :  "  Death  must  really  be  regarded  as  the  true  goal  of 
life  ;  when  it  comes  it  at  once  adjusts  all  that  has  been  pre- 
paring in  the  course  of  life."  Baudelairef  has  exactly  the 
same  idea  in  his  verse  : 

"  C'est  la  mort  qui  console,  helas !  et  qui  fait  vivre  ; 
C'est  le  but  de  la  vie,  et  c'est  le  seul  espoir 
Qui,  comme  un  elixir,  nous  monte  et  nous  enivre 
Et  nous  donne  le  coeur  de  marcher  jusqu'au  soir." 

Alas  !  it  is  death  that  comforts  and  gives  us  life  ;  it  is  the 
goal  of  our  days,  it  is  our  only  hope  that  like  a  wine  goes 
to  our  head  and  makes  us  drunk,  and  puts  heart  into  us 
to  journey  on  till  the  night." 

The  normal  end,  coming  after  the  appearance  of  the 
instinct  of  death,  may  truly  be  regarded  as  the  ultimate 
goal  of  human  existence.  But  before  attaining  it,  a  normal 
life  must  be  lived  :  a  life  filled  all  through  with  the  feeling 
that  comes  from  the  accomplishment  of  function.  Know- 
ledge of  the  true  goal  of  life  clears  up  the  problem  and 
shows  us  the  right  conduct  of  life.  In  my  first  chapter, 
I  tried  to  lay  before  the  reader  a  summary  of  the  views  that 
have  been  held  as  to  right  conduct.  Ever  since  the  attempt 
has  been  made  to  discover  a  rational  basis  of  morality, 
human  nature,  regarded  essentially  as  good,  has  been  taken 
as  that  basis.  Religions  and  systems  of  philosophy,  on  the 
other  hand,  which  have  tried  to  find  another  foundation 
for  morality,  have  regarded  human  nature  as  vicious  at 

*  "  Die  Welt  als  Wille  u.  Vorstellung,"  vol.  II.  p.  730. 
t  "  Fleurs  du  Mai.     La  Mort  des  Pauvres,"  p.  340.     1883. 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS         289 

the  roots.  Science  has  been  able  to  tell  us  that  man,  the 
descendant  of  animals,  has  good  and  evil  qualities  in  his 
nature,  and  that  his  life  is  made  unhappy  by  the  evil  quali- 
ties. But  the  constitution  of  man  is  not  immutable,  and 
perhaps  it  may  be  changed  for  the  better. 

Morality  should  be  based  not  on  human  nature  in  its 
existing  vitiated  condition,  but  on  human  nature,  ideal, 
as  it  may  be  in  the  future.  Before  all  things,  it  is  necessary 
to  try  to  amend  the  evolution  of  the  human  life,  that  is  to 
say,  to  transform  its  disharmonies  into  harmonies  (Ortho- 
biosis).  This  task  can  be  undertaken  only  by  science,  and 
to  science  the  opportunity  of  accomplishing  it  must  be 
given.  However,  even  in  the  most  civilised  countries, 
science  is  far  from  being  in  this  ideal  condition.  Obstacles 
lie  in  its  way  and  retard  its  advance. 

To  make  the  human  constitution  better,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  know  it  thoroughly.  How  can  we  try  to  trans- 
form to  a  normal  and  physiological  condition  old  age,  at 
present  utterly  pathological,  unless  we  first  understand  the 
most  intimate  details  of  its  mechanism  ?  Deeply  rooted 
prejudices  make  it  very  difficult  to  examine  the  organs  of 
the  aged  dead.  The  difficulties  surrounding  post-mortem 
investigations  are  almost  insurmountable.  According  to 
the  regulations  enforced  in  France,  autopsies  cannot  be 
made  until  twenty-four  hours  after  death.  An  autopsy 
cannot  be  made  except  when  the  corpse  has  not  been 
claimed  by  any  relatives  in  the  direct  line,  husband  or  wife, 
brothers,  sisters,  uncles,  aunts,  nephews,  nieces.  If  kins- 
men put  in  no  claim,  co-operative  societies  may  take  pos- 
session of  the  corpse  and  oppose  the  holding  of  an  examina- 
tion. Even  when  an  examination  has  been  permitted,  it 
must  extend  only  to  "  the  ascertaining  of  exact  facts,  and 
this  must  be  taken  as  excluding  the  mutilation  of  the  corpse 


290  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

by  the  removal  of  any  organ  or  portion  of  the  anatomy,, 
however  interesting  scientifically  such  material  might  be." 
(Circular  of  the  Director  of  "  Assistance  publique,"  January 
20,  1900.*)  It  is  easy  to  see  that  such  regulations  make 
extremely  difficult  the  investigation  of  senile  degeneration, 
and  the  search  for  means  of  preventing  it,  especially  by  the 
use  of  serums  obtained  after  injecting  emulsions  of  human 
organs.  These  difficulties  in  reality  arise  from  the  pre- 
judice in  favour  of  the  existence  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave 
and  a  resurrection  of  the  body. 

Almost  similar  difficulties  stand  in  the  way  of  obtaining, 
the  bodies  of  old  animals.  Their  owners  prefer  to  keep 
animals,  after  they  are  useless,  until  they  die,  and  to  bury 
the  bodies  instead  of  devoting  them  to  the  scientific  investi- 
gation that  is  so  important  to  humanity. 

As  soon  as  we  come  to  believe  that  the  solution  of  the 
problems  of  human  happiness  will  come  not  from  religions 
nor  from  systems  of  metaphysical  philosophy,  but  from 
exact  science  alone,  the  obstacles  to  progress  will  be  removed. 
That  scientific  methods  will  redress  the  disharmonies  of 
the  human  constitution  is  the  more  probable  inasmuch  as 
the  old  age  of  human  beings  was  more  physiological,  and 
their  death  more  natural,  in  earlier  times  than  they  are 
to-day. 

The  study  of  the  human  constitution  not  only  denotes 
the  real  goal  of  our  existence,  but  indicates  to  us  what  is 
meant  by  true  culture  and  real  progress. 

In  earlier  chapters,  I  have  shown  that  philosophers  have 
recognised  the  existence  in  man  of  a  tendency  to  culture 
and  progress.  But  what  do  they  mean  by  these  two  words  ? 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  define  them  as  clearly  as 

*  The  prohibitions  ia  England  are  almost  equally  sweeping. — 
Editor* 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS        291 

possible,  and  Herbert  Spencer,  the  greatest  of  living  philo- 
sophers, has  devoted  a  special  essay  to  the  subject.  He  ex- 
amined those  phenomena  that  he  regarded  as  progressive, 
first  in  the  inorganic  world,  next,  in  the  world  of  living  things, 
and,  finally,  in  humanity.  He  regards  as  progressive  only 
the  changes  that  tend  to  increase  human  happiness,  and  it 
is  precisely  on  account  of  that  tendency  that  he  regards  them 
as  progressive.  In  order  to  define  progressive  phenomena 
Spencer  thinks  it  necessary  to  make  parallel  studies  of 
them  in  man  and  the  animal  world.  He  finds  that  progress 
is  marked  always  by  a  transformation  from  the  simple  and 
uniform  to  the  complex  ;  and  that  it  produces  constant 
differentiation,  in  the  evolution  of  the  planetary  world, 
in  the  embryonic  development  of  the  individual,  and  in  the 
societies  of  men  and  animals.  But  differentiation  is  not 
a  complete  account  of  progress,  for  in  the  latter  must  be 
included  the  change  of  the  indefinite  into  the  definite. 
Spencer  identifies  progress  with  evolution,  and  his  well- 
known  definition  of  evolution  is,  that  it  is  "  an  integration 
of  matter  and  concomitant  dissipation  of  motion  ;  during 
which  the  matter  passes  from  an  indefinite,  incoherent 
homogeneity  to  a  definite,  coherent  heterogeneity ;  and 
during  which  the  retained  motion  undergoes  a  parallel 
transformation."  Such  a  formula  embraces  too  much,  so 
that  he  is  rather  vague,  especially  when  he  applies  it  to 
human  affairs.  Differentiation  in  itself  is  not  the  whole 
of  progress.  It  is  necessary  in  each  concrete  case  to  inquire 
into  its  limits  and  modifications. 

The  application  of  his  theory  of  progress  and  evolution 
led  Spencer,  in  his  investigation  of  the  basis  of  morality, 
to  define  human  progress  as  the  tendency  towards  a  life 
as  full  and  as  long  as  possible.  By  fulness  he  means  com- 
plexity, if  I  interpret  his  argument  correctly.  Civilised 


29 2  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

life  as  compared  with  savage  life,  is  a  realisation  of  progress. 
Civilised  man,  according  to  Spencer,  uses  food  in  a  better 
regulated  fashion,  in  accordance  with  the  call  and  degree 
of  his  appetite  ;  the  food  is  of  better  quality,  it  is  freed  from 
contamination,  is  much  more  varied  and  is  better  prepared. 
The  same  differentiation  distinguishes  the  clothing,  the 
homes  and  so  forth  of  civilised  man.  According  to  Spencer, 
all  such  progress  helps  real  happiness,  that  is  to  say  the 
fulness  and  the  prolongation  of  life. 

It  is  easy  to  see,  however,  that  such  an  interpretation 
of  progress  is  inexact,  like  the  conception  of  the  goal  of  life 
associated  with  it.  If  the  complication  of  the  mode  of  life, 
which  is  so  marked  in  modern  civilisation,  is  really  the  best 
way  of  reaching  happiness,  there  are  no  reasons  to  arrest 
the  tendency  in  that  direction.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  my 
view  be  correct,  that  true  progress  consists  in  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  disharmonies  of  human  nature  and  in  the  culti- 
vation of  physiological  old  age  followed  by  natural  death, 
the  conditions  for  realising  progress  would  be  different  and 
very  clear.  The  great  complexity  of  life  in  modern  civilisa- 
tion is  a  sign  of  progress  according  to  Spencer,  but  I  do  not 
agree  with  him.  Spencer  speaks  of  the  variety  and  pre- 
paration of  food.  It  is  certain  that  this  complexity  militates 
against  physiological  old  age,  and  that  the  simpler  food  of 
uncivilised  races  is  better.  I  do  not  wish  to  write  an  essay 
on  domestic  hygiene,  and  I  shall  be  content  with  saying 
that  most  of  the  delicate  dishes  provided  in  the  homes, 
hotels,  and  restaurants  of  the  rich,  stimulate  the  organs  of 
digestion  and  secretion  in  a  harmful  way.  It  would  be  true 
progress  to  abandon  modern  cuisine  and  to  go  back  to  the 
s'mple  dishes  of  our  ancestors.  One  of  the  conditions  that 
enabled  the  Jews  of  the  earlier  Biblical  times  to  live  longer 
than  civilised  people,  was,  beyond  all  doubt,  the  greater 


SUMMARY   AND    CONCLUSIONS         293 

simplicity  of  their  diet.  True  hygiene,  which  is  in  open 
disagreement  with  the  elaborated  art  of  cookery,  is  also 
opposed  to  the  differentiation  of  modern  dress  and  dwellings. 
Progress  thus  would  consist  in  simplifying  many  sides  of 
the  lives  of  civilised  people. 

The  luxury  which  has  done  so  much  harm  to  mankind, 
and  which  would  be  included  in  the  formula,  "  passage 
from  indefinite  homogeneity  to  definite  heterogeneity," 
is  founded  not  on  a  general  law  of  evolution  of  the  whole 
universe,  but  on  a  particular  conception  of  life,  quite 
different  from  mine  according  to  which  the  rectifying  of 
the  abnormal  human  cycle  to  a  normal  cycle  is  the  true 
goal  of  life. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  oldest  conceptions  of  life  that  has 
tended  to  luxury  is  to  be  found  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes. 
Having  reached  the  conclusion  :  "  For  in  much  wisdom 
is  much  grief  :  and  he  that  increaseth  knowledge  increaseth 
sorrow "  (i.  18),  and  having  said :  "  Then  I  beheld  all 
the  work  of  God,  that  a  man  cannot  find  out  the  work  that 
is  done  under  the  sun  :  because  though  a  man  labour  to 
seek  it  out,  yet  he  shall  not  find  it,  yea  farther  ;  though  a 
wise  man  think  to  know  it,  yet  shall  he  not  be  able  to  find 
it."*  Solomon  laid  down  the  rules  of  life  as  follows  :  "  Go 
thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy,  and  drink  thy  wine  with 
a  merry  heart :  for  God  now  accepteth  thy  works." 

"  Let  thy  garments  be  always  white  ;  and  let  thy  head 
lack  no  ointment." 

"  Live  joyfully  with  the  wife  whom  thou  lovest  all  the 
days  of  the  life  of  thy  vanity,  which  he  hath  given  thee 
under  the  sun,  all  the  days  of  thy  vanity  ;  for  that  is  thy 
portion  in  this  life,  and  in  thy  labour  which  thou  takest 
under  the  sun." 

*  Ecclesiastes,  viii.  17. 


294  THE   NATURE   OF    MAN 

"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findest  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might ;  for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge, 
nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou  goest."* 

The  wisdom  of  Solomon  was  to  enjoy  this  life  as  much 
as  possible,  since  man  is  unable  to  solve  the  problem  of  the 
goal  of  life.  His  precepts  have  been  taken  as  a  guide,  and 
have  led  to  an  organisation  of  life  that  could  only  become 
more  and  more  epicurean. 

As  soon  as  the  goal  of  life  has  been  seen  clearly,  luxury 
ceases  to  be  true  happiness  as  it  hinders  the  making  perfect 
of  the  normal  cycle  of  human  life.  Young  people,  instead 
of  abandoning  themselves  to  all  the  pleasures  because  they 
have  nothing  before  them  but  a  sad  prospect  of  morbid 
old  age  and  death,  ought  to  make  ready  for  physiological 
old  age  and  natural  death.  The  apprenticeship  certainly 
will  be  long.  In  our  time  the  years  of  study  already  last 
much  longer  than  occurred  even  a  century  ago.  As  the  body 
of  knowledge  grows  greater,  the  time  to  acquire  it  will 
become  prolonged,  but  this  period  of  preparation  will  serve 
as  the  prelude  to  ripe  maturity  and  ideal  old  age, 

Old  age  is  repulsive  at  present,  because  it  is  an  old  age 
devoid  of  its  true  meaning,  full  of  egoism,  narrowness  of 
view,  incapacity  and  malignancy.  The  physiological  old 
age  of  the  future  assuredly  will  be  very  different.  In  the 
societies  of  animals,  especially  as  they  occur  among  insects, 
the  members  show  a  high  degree  of  differentiation.  Some 
individuals  are  adapted  to  the  reproductive  functions,  while 
others  are  sterile  and  are  fitted  for  the  care  of  the  young 
and  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  community.  This  differentia- 
tion, which  is  of  social  value,  has  arisen  independently  in 
different  groups.  Thus,  in  the  societies  of  bees  and  ants  the 
workers  are  sterile  females,  while  in  the  case  of  termites, 

*  Ecclesiastes  ix.  7-10. 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS         295 

individuals  of  both  sexes  may  be  sterile.  In  the  human 
race,  evolution  is  following  another  path.  There  is  no  sign 
of  the  appearance  of  a  sterile  class  ;  but,  as  the  life  of  man 
is  longer  than  that  of  insects,  it  is  divided  into  two  periods, 
a  reproductive  period  and  a  sterile  period.  Old  age,  at 
present  practically  a  useless  burden  on  the  community, 
will  become  a  period  of  work  valuable  to  the  community. 
As  the  old  man  will  no  longer  be  subject  to  loss  of  memory 
or  to  intellectual  weakness,  he  will  be  able  to  apply  his 
great  experience  to  the  most  complicated  and  the  most 
delicate  parts  of  the  social  life. 

Young  men  are  usually  very  bad  politicians,  and  in 
•countries  where  they  take  a  large  share  in  public  affairs 
they  do  much  harm  because  they  are  without  the  necessary 
practical  knowledge.  Their  incapacity  is  clearly  shown 
by  the  great  changes  in  their  political  views  as  they  advance 
in  years  and  gain  experience.  In  the  future,  old  men  will 
have  charge  of  all  complex  and  difficult  social  functions. 
Thus,  vast  improvements  will  be  made  in  politics  and  in 
justice,  which  at  present  are  defective  because  of  their 
insufficient  foundations. 

As  soon  as  every  one  has  recognised  the  true  goal  of  human 
life,  and  has  assumed,  as  the  ideal,  the  realisation  of  the  normal . 
cycle  of  life,  a  real  guide  to  life  will  have  been  found.  We 
shah1  know  at  least  whither  we  are  going,  and  as  yet  we  are 
ignorant  of  that.  We  have  wished  to  make  life  better, 
but  we  have  not  known  how  or  for  whom  to  make  the 
attempt.  Formerly  it  was  assumed  that,  in  the  future,  love 
would  spread  and  become  generalised.  Family  love  had 
spread  to  the  tribe  and  then  had  been  transformed  to  patriot- 
ism ;  it  was  held  that  no  obstacle  stood  in  the  way  of  its 
embracing  all  humanity.  Such  an  idea  was  prevalent  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  became  a  common  ground  of 


296  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

all  systems  of  philosophy,  morality  and  politics.  But,  since 
means  of  communication  have  been  improved  so  vastly 
and  since  the  most  distant  voyages  are  within  the  power 
of  almost  every  one,  the  vague  notion  of  "  humanity  "  has 
been  replaced  by  exact  knowledge  of  the  native  savages 
in  many  parts  of  the  earth.  We  have  come  to  disbelieve 
in  "  humanity  "  in  the  old  sense  of  the  word,  so  great  is  the 
difference  between  savage  and  civilised  peoples.  And  many 
modern  theories  have  rejected  the  inclusion  of  the  lower 
races  in  the  sentiment  of  humanity.  In  the  fifth  chapter, 
I  quoted  the  view  of  the  moralist,  Sutherland,  on  the  advan- 
tages that  have  come  about  from  the  English  seizure  of  the 
forests  that  belonged  to  the  natives  of  Australia.  More- 
over, it  is  well  known  that  a  profound  hatred  exists  between 
white  men  and  black  men  in  several  parts  of  the  earth, 
notably  in  America  and  the  Antilles.  Such  instances 
could  be  multiplied. 

How  then  are  we  to  emerge  from  this  difficulty  ?  At 
what  point  is  the  love  of  the  future  to  be  stayed,  if  it  cannot 
spread  to  all  humanity  ? 

In  a  recently  published  treatise  on  natural  philosophy, 
Ostwald,*  a  very  distinguished  German  physical  chemist, 
has  discussed  this  question.  He  calls  good  "  the  actions  that 
made  easier  the  existence  of  other  men."  But  to  what  other 
men  are  we  to  apply  this  rule  ?  "  What  is  the  size  of  the 
circle  of  altruistic  love,"  asked  Ostwald.  "The  general  feeling," 
he  said,  "  is  that  it  should  cover  the  family  and  the  nation. 
The  feeling  that  it  'should  cover  all  humanity  appears  to 
most  of  us  as  a  theoretical  demand  rather  than  some- 
thing practical.  And  thus  have  not  most  of  us  the  tendency 
to  limit  our  altruistic  actions  much  more  in  the  case  of  men 
beneath  us  than  in  the  case  ot  our  social  comrades  (Stades- 
*  "  Vorlesungen  iiber  Naturphilosophie."  Leipzig,  1902. 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS        297 

genossen)  ? "  According  to  this  formula,  moral  action 
would  not  stretch  beyond  our  compatriots,  and  humanity 
as  a  whole  would  be  excluded  from  it. 

Here  we  have  entered  on  a  problem  relating  to  the 
principles  of  normal  life.  In  former  times,  religion  was  the 
chief  bond  among  men.  Later  on,  religion  gave  way  to 
patriotism,  which  in  default  of  anything  better  still  holds 
its  place.  Community  of  language  unites  the  individuals  of 
a  nation,  but  the  advance  of  civilisation  has  undermined 
the  foundation  of  that  source  of  differentiation.  Naturally, 
when  a  number  of  men  spoke  only  one  and  the  same  lan- 
guage, great  solidarity  was  the  result,  as  ideas  spread  only 
by  language.  But  such  a  monoglottism  is  not  the  end  of 
human  progress.  As  means  of  communication  have  im- 
proved, the  nations  have  been  brought  in  contact  with  each 
other.  The  knowledge  of  foreign  languages  is  an  elementary 
necessity  of  modern  life.  And  so  the  bonds  of  nationality 
certainly  will  become  looser,  in  this  respect  following  the 
bonds  of  family.  The  dislike  that  we  have  to  people  whose 
language  we  do  not  understand,  becomes  changed  into  a 
feeling  of  unity  with  them  as  soon  as  we  can  understand 
them.  In  that  respect  an  active  development  is  in  progress, 
and  we  shall  have  to  seek  out  some  new  principle  on  which 
to  base  international  solidarity.  A  good  deal  has  been 
made  of  the  possession  by  different  nations  of  the  same 
culture,  but  the  vagueness  of  the  phrase  has  not  been 
realised.  Recognition  of  the  true  goal  of  life  and  of 
science  as  the  only  means  by  which  that  goal  may  be 
attained  would  form  an  ideal  on  which  men  might  unite  ; 
they  would  group  themselves  around  that,  as  in  former 
days  men  were  held  together  by  religion. 

I  think  it  extrernely  probable  that  the  scientific  study 
of  old  age  and  of  death,  two  branches  of  science  that  may 


298  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

be  called  gerontology  and  thanatology,  will  bring  about  great 
modifications  in  the  course  of  the  last  period  of  life.  All 
that  we  know  on  hese  subjects  confirms  my  view.  But  will 
it  lead  to  the  development  of  an  instinct  of  death  ?  That 
instinct  lies  deep  in  the  roots  of  the  human  constitution  ? 
Will  the  means  be  found  to  bring  it  to  the  surface  ?  Has 
not  the  enormous  period  during  which  it  has  remained 
latent  led  to  its  atrophy  ?  The  science  of  the  future 
alone  can  answer  that  question.  But  the  persistence  of 
organs  and  structures  that  are  extremely  ancient,  as  for 
instance,  the  survival  of  the  mammary  glands  in  males  and 
of  the  vermiform  appendage  in  anthropoid  apes  and  man, 
gives  us  the  hope  that  the  instinct  of  natural  death  may 
emerge  from  its  latent  condition  when  old  age  has  become  a 
normal  process. 

The  mammary  glands  of  males  are  functionless  rudiments. 
They  must  be  interpreted  as  vestiges  of  organs  that  were 
more  highly  developed  in  remote  ancestors  among  which  both 
sexes  gave  milk  to  nourish  the  young.  This  function  exists 
in  a  latent  condition  in  the  males  of  living  mammals.  Ex- 
tremely rare  cases  have  existed  in  which  males  possessed 
large  glands  secreting  enough  milk  to  feed  the  young. 
These  males,  it  is  true,  had  the  genital  organs  either  very 
badly  developed  or  in  a  condition  approaching  hermaphro- 
ditism.*  But  in  other  authentic  cases  (perfectly  developed) 
he-goats  and  rams  have  been  known  to  provide  milk  in 
considerable  quantities,  whilst  married  men  have  suckled 
children  with  milk  secreted  by  unusually  developed  glands. 
It  is  stated  that  the  secretion  of  milk  can  be  excited  by 
stimulation  of  the  nipples. t  Such  examples  of  the  reappear- 

*  Wiedersheim,  "  Bau  des  Menschen,"  Third  Edition,  pp.  21,  22. 
Alsberg,  "Abstain,  d.  Mensch.,"  p.  61. 

t  Ploss-Bartels,  "  Das  Weib,"  vol.  II.,  p.  464. 


SUMMARY   AND   CONCLUSIONS         299 

ance  of  a  latent  property  that  has  been  lost  for  untold  ages 
are  extremely  important. 

Probably  actual  cases  of  the  instinct  of  natural  death 
in  man  are  as  rare  as  instances  of  the  secretion  of  milk  by 
males.  But  favouring  circumstances  and  some  education 
of  the  instinct  of  death  would  probably  reawaken  it  and 
develop  it .  fully.  There  is  much  work  to  be  done  before 
so  great  an  object  can  be  achieved.  But  it  is  the  peculiar 
feature  of  science  to  be  eager  for  much  labour,  while  religions 
and  systems  of  metaphysical  philosophy  are  content  with 
passive  fatalism  and  silent  resignation.  The  mere  hope  of 
being  able  to  solve  the  great  problems  of  humanity  in  the 
more  or  less  distant  future  brings  much  satisfaction.  When 
Tolstoi,  agonised  by  the  impossibility  of  solving  the  great 
problems,  and  haunted  by  the  fear  of  death,  asked  if  the 
love  of  our  children  is  not  able  to  sooth  our  souls,  he  found 
that  such  a  hope  was  vain.  "  What  is  the  good,"  he  said, 
"  of  rearing  children  who  will  soon  find  themselves  in  the 
same  difficult  position  as  their  parents  ?  "  "  Why  should 
they  live  ?  why  should  I  love  them  and  protect  them  and 
foster  them  ?  Is  it  that  they  may  come  to  the  same  despair 
as  I  am  in  myself  or  else  grow  imbecile  ?  As  I  love  them, 
I  do  not  wish  to  hide  the  truth  from  them,  for  each  step  in 
knowledge  will  lead  them  nearer  to  it.  But  the  truth  is — 
death."  I  can  understand  that  many  persons  would 
abstain  from  having  children  if  they  had  come  to  these 
pessimistic  conclusions. 

The  point  of  view  that  I  have  exposed  in  this  book  will 
make  life  more  possible.  Our  generation  has  no  chance 
of  attaining  physiological  old  age  and  normal  death  ;  but 
it  may  take  real  consolation  from  the  thought  that  those 
who  are  now  young  may  advance  several  steps  in  that 
direction.  It  may  reflect  that  each  succeeding  generation 


300  THE   NATURE    OF    MAN 

will  get  closer  and  closer  to  the  solution  and  that  true 
happiness  one  day  will  be  reached  by  mankind. 

The  slow  advance  to  happiness  will  demand  many  sacri- 
fices. Already,  men  of  science  sacrifice  their  health  and 
sometimes  their  life  to  reach  the  solution  of  some  important 
problem,  as  for  instance,  to  clear  up  a  medical  question, 
and  so  be  ready  to  heal  or  to  save  the  lives  of  their  fellows. 

Before  it  is  possible  to  reach  the  goal,  mankind  must  be 
persuaded  that  science  is  all-powerful  and  that  the  deeply 
rooted  existing  superstitions  are  pernicious.  It  will  be 
necessary  to  reform  many  customs  and  many  institutions 
that  now  seem  to  rest  on  enduring  foundations.  The 
abandonment  of  much  that  is  habitual  and  a  revolution 
in  the  mode  of  education  will  require  long  and  painful  effort. 

Definition  of  the  goal  of  human  existence  will  bring  great 
precision  to  the  principles  of  morality.  True  policy  will 
have  to  be  reared  on  new  foundations.  The  politics  of  to- 
day are  in  the  condition  in  which  medicine  still  remained 
in  days  long  past.  In  the  old  days  any  one  was  allowed 
to  practise  medicine,  because  there  was  no  medical  science 
and  nothing  was  exact.  Even  at  the  present  time,  among 
less  civilised  people,  any  old  woman  is  allowed  to  be  a  mid- 
wife. In  some  cases  the  mother  attends  the  labour  of  her 
daughter,  or  (as  for  instance  in  a  caste  of  natives  in  Malabar), 
it  may  be  the  mother-in-law  who  does  the  duty.  Very  often 
friends  act  as  midwives.  Among  more  civilised  races, 
differentiation  has  taken  place,  and  childbirths  are  attended 
by  women  of  special  training,  who  are  midwives  by  diploma. 
In  the  case  of  nations  still  more  civilised,  the  trained  mid- 
wives  are  directed  by  obstetric  physicians  who  have  special- 
ised in  the  conducting  of  labour.  This  high  degree  of 
differentiation  has  arisen  with,  and  has  itself  aided,  the 
progress  of  obstetric  knowledge. 


SUMMARY   AND    CONCLUSIONS         301 

Politics,  as  they  exist  to-day,  correspond  to  the  early 
stages  of  obstetric  practice.  Every  adult  male  is  thought 
fit  for  exercising  functions  so  difficult  as  those  of  an  elector 
or  a  juryman.  The  only  excuse  for  this  condition  is  that 
political  science  is  in  its  infancy.  When  sociology  is  more 
advanced,  there  will  come  about  a  differentiation  like  that 
in  medicine.  When  that  has  taken  place,  old  persons  who 
have  acquired  great  experience,  and  who  because  of  their 
physiological  constitutions  have  preserved  all  their  faculties, 
will  give  most  valuable  services  to  the  society  of  the  future. 

In  the  progress  towards  the  real  goal  of  life,  men  will  lose 
much  of  their  liberty,  but  will  receive  in  exchange  a  new 
feeling  of  solidarity.  As  knowledge  becomes  more  and 
more  extensive  and  exact,  freedom  to  neglect  it  will  be 
more  and  more  limited.  Formerly  any  one  was  at  liberty 
to  teach  that  whales  were  fish  ;  but  now  that  it  has  been 
proved  that  whales  are  mammals,  the  mistake  is  not  to  be 
pardoned.  Since  medicine  has  become  more  of  an  exact 
science,  the  liberty  of  doctors  has  been  restrained.  Practi- 
tioners have  already  been  sentenced  for  neglecting  antisepsis 
and  asepsis.  Other  forms  of  freedom,  such  as  the  freedom 
to  neglect  vaccination  against  smallpox,  to  spit  on  the  floor, 
or  to  let  dogs  run  loose  without  being  muzzled,  are  worthy 
of  savage  days  and  will  cease  as  civilisation  advances. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  knowledge  that  the  goal  of  human 
life  can  be  attained  only  by  the  development  of  a  h;gh  degree 
of  solidarity  amongst  men  will  restrain  actual  egotism.  The 
mere  fact  that  the  enjoyment  of  life  according  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  Solomon  is  opposed  to  the  goal  of  human  life  will 
lessen  luxury  and  the  evil  that  comes  from  luxury.  Con- 
viction that  science  alone  is  able  to  redress  the  disharmonies 
of  the  human  constitution  will  lead  directly  to  the  improve- 
ment of  education  and  to  the  solidarity  of  mankind. 


302  THE   NATURE   OF   MAN 

In  progress  towards  the  goal,  nature  will  have  to  be  con- 
sulted continuously.  Already,  in  the  case  of  the  epheme- 
rids,  nature  has  produced  a  complete  cycle  of  normal  life 
ending  in  natural  death.  In  the  problem  of  his  own  fate, 
man  must  not  be  content  with  the  gifts  of  nature  ;  he  must 
direct  them  by  his  own  efforts.  Just  as  he  has  been  able 
to  modify  the  nature  of  animals  and  plants,  man  must 
attempt  to  modify  his  own  constitution,  so  as  to  readjust 
its  disharmonies. 

Breeders  form  a  conception  of  the  ideal  result  when  they 
are  about  to  attempt  the  production  of  some  new  variety 
which  shall  be  pleasing  esthetically  and  of  service  to  man. 
Next,  they  study  the  existing  individual  variations  in 
animals  and  plants  on  which  they  wish  to  work,  and  from 
which  they  will  select  with  the  minutest  care.  The  ideal 
result  must  have  some  relation  to  the  constitution  of  the 
organisms  selected. 

To  modify  the  human  constitution,  it  will  be  necessary 
first,  to  frame  the  ideal,  and  thereafter  to  set  to  work  with 
all  the  resources  of  science. 

If  there  can  be  formed  an  ideal  able  to  unite  men  in  a 
kind  of  religion  of  the  future,  this  ideal  must  be  founded 
on  scientific  principles.  And  if  it  be  true,  as  has  been 
asserted  so  often,  that  man  can  live  by  faith  alone,  the  faith 
must  be  in  the  power  of  science. 


INDEX 


ABORTION,  artificial,  102,  103, 104,  105 

as  a  religious  ceremony,  164 
Abstinence,    Hartmann    on    sexual, 

1 86 
Aged,  fear  of  death  by,  131 

murder  of,   by  low   races,    129, 
130 

treatment  of,  by  modern  society, 

130 

Albius,  and  artificial  fertilisation,  20 
Alcohol,  and  length  of  life,  259 

as  producer  of  sclerosis,  247 
Altruism,  limitations  of,  296 
Anaesthetics,  influence  of,  compared 

with  death,  159 
Ancestor-worship,  in  China,  144 

by  Confucius,  145,  146 

by  Kaffirs,  150 

quotations  from  Tylor  on,  150 
Animism,  Tylor  on,  138,  139,  140 
Anisoplia  and  light,  36 
Annelids,  vegetative  reproduction  of, 

264 
Annihilation,  Biichner  on,  220 

Mailaender  on,  188 
Anthropoid  apes,  relationship  to  man, 

social  instincts  of,  105 
Ants,  sexual  disharmonies  in,  34 
Apes,*  compared  with  man,  42,  43 
Appendage,  vermiform,  of  man  and 

apes,  44 
Appendicitis,  66,  67 

curable  by  modern  science,  211 

frequency  of,  68 
Apoplexy,  phagocytes  in,  239 
Aristotle,  on  future  life,  169 

on  pleasure,  6 
Art,  as  affecteri  by  Christianity,  13 

of  the  Greeks,  5 
Arterial  sclerosis.  247 
Arteries,  in  old  age,  237 
Asceticism,  n 
Atrophy,  in  old  age,  238 


Aurelius,  Marcus,  on  death,  172, 174, 

262 

on  immortality,  172 
Renan  on,  174 

BACON,  on  failure  of  philosophy,  203 

on  lengthening  life,  257 
Bacteria  of  the  intestines,  248,  249 
Baobab-tree,  age  of,  266 
Baudelaire,  on  death,  288 
Baumann,  on  microbes  in  intestines, 

25J 

Beetles,  as  food  of  wasp  larvae,  28,  29 
Behring,  von,  on  diphtheria,  211 
Benares,  Buddha's  sermon  at,  154 
Bert,  Paul,  on  treatment  of  the  aged, 

!30 

Bible,  old  age  in,  280 

Bienstock,  on 'harmful  microbes,  256 

on  intestinal  putrefaction,  255 
Birds,  absence   of  large  intestine  in, 

252 

age  of,  232 
Bischoff,  on  reproductive  organs  of 

apes,  8 1 
Blindness,  of  infants,  how  prevented, 

211 
Blood,  experiments  on  serum  of,  52, 

Blood  corpuscles,  specific  sensibility 

of,  1 60 

Boas,  on  cancer,  215 
Bones,  in  old  age,  237,  243 
Bordet,  on  cytotoxic  serums,  245 
Botulism    ("sausage-disease"),    mi- 
crobe of,  257 
Brain,     invasion      of      macrophags 

(figure),  241 

Brunetiere,  on  failure  of  science,  218 
Buddha,  contempt  of  women,  9 

death  of,  158 

on  disease,  154 

on  fear  of  death,  153 

on  immortality,  147 


304 


INDEX 


Buddha,  on  Nirvana,  158 

on  old  age,  154 

on  renunciation,  154 

sermon  at  Benares,  154 

on  sorrows  of  existence,  205 
Buddhism,  and  celibacy,  163 

and  fear  of  death,  119 

and  future  life,  144 

and  immortality,  147,  148 

and  pessimism,  176,  177 
Buchner,  on  Buddhism,  144 

on  morality,  107 

on  science,  219 
Burial,  of  the  old,  alive,  152 
Biitschli,  on  immortality  of  protozoa, 

264 
Byron,  on  fear  of  death,  177 

on  instinctive  nature  of  fear  of 
death,  128 

on  pessimism,  177 


,  absence  of,  in  birds,  253 

of  chimpanzee  (figure),  45 

and  disease,  69 

of  man  (figure),  44 

of  man  and  apes,  compared,  44 

of  monkeys,  67 
Cakya-Mouni,   discovers    death   and 

disease,  119,  120 
Calkins,  on  degeneration  of  infusoria, 

232 
Cancer,  in  alimentary  canal,  73,  74 

modern  science  and,  213,  214 
Casimir,  sacrifices  at  burial  of,  KJ.I 
Castration,  Hartmann  on,  183 
Catasetum,  disharmony  in,  30 
Catasetum  saccatum  (figure),  24 
Caterpillars  and  cocoons,  33 
Celibacy,  12,  13,  163 
Cellulose,  digestion  of,  252 
Centenarians,  Lankester  on,  259 

Lejoncourt  on,  280 
Cerceris,  figure  of,  28 
Chatogaster,    vegetative  reproduction 

of  (figure),  265 

Chemotaxis,  of  sexual  cells,  268 
Childbirth,  ages  of  women  at,  93 

pains  of,  92 
Chinese,  ancestor-worship  among,  144 

belief  in  immortality,  145 

Buddhists,  views  on  future  life, 
149 

laws  against,  109 
Christianity,  and  asceticism,  n 

and  continence,  163 

influence  of,  on  art,  13 

and  human  nature,  7,  10 
Chromophags,  in  blanching  of  hairs, 
243 


Cicero,  on  death,  169,  263 

on  future  life,  169 
Civilisation,  and  progress,  292 
Cocoons,  formation  of,  33 
Confucius,  on  ancestor-worship,  145, 

146 

Conjugation,  and  immortality,  264 
Connective  tissue,  in  old  age,  236,  238 
Consciousness,  relation  of  to  bodily 

functions,  160 
Crede,    on    prevention    of    infantile 

blindness,  210 

Cruger,  on  bees  and  orchids,  23 
Cuisine,  modern,  evils  of,  292 
Cytotoxic  serums,  245 

DAHLMANN,  on  meaning  of  Nirvana, 

156 

Darwin,  on  fertilisation  of  orchids, 
21,  22 

on  luminous  insects,  37 

on  natural  morality,  8 

on  origin  of  man,  40 
Davids,  Rhys,  on  meaning  of  Nirvana, 

156,  157 
Death,  Aurelius  on,  262 

Baudelaire  on,  288 

Cicero  on,  169,  263 

Guyau  on,  195 

Hartmann  on,  184 

Mailaender  on,  188,  189,  190 

Nordau  on,  193 

Plato  on,  166,  167 

Renan  on,  195 

Ruckert  on,  195 

Schiller  on,  195 

Schopenhauer  on,  179,  180,  181, 
288 

Seneca  on,  171 

Socrates  on,  166,  167 

Tokarsky  on,  125 

Tolstoi  on,  122.  123,  299 

Weismann  on,  266 

Zola  on,  226 

Philosophers  on,  133 

as  annihilation,  162 

compared  with  anaesthetics,  159 

fear  of,  115,  116,  153 

feigning  of,  114 

in  ephemerids,  275 

instinct  of,  281,  298 

of  Jewish  patriarchs,  280,  281 

natural,  266,  272,  277,  278,  279, 
280,  299 

in  old  age,  267 

scientific  study  of,  262 
Degeneration,  senile,  in  infusoria,  231 

in  insects,  232 

in  vertebrates,  232 


INDEX 


305 


De  Goncourt,  quotations  from,  121, 

225 

Deniker,  a  foetus  of  man  and  ape,  47 
Descartes,  on  lengthening  life,  257 
Desire  of  life,  not  to  be  ignored,  228 
De  Vries,  on  new  species,  57 
Diet,  as  regulated  by  religious,  162 
Digestive  system  of  man,  60 
Disease,  religious  measures  against, 

164 

Dogs,  old  age  in,  233 
D'Holbach,  on  natural  morality,  7 
Dragon-tree,  of  Oratava,  265 
Dubois,  on  Pithecanthropus,  50 
Du  Bois  Reymond,  on  agnosticism, 

221 

Dufour,  on  wasps.  27 
Duhring,  a  blind  optimist,  117 
Duncan,   Matthews,   on    childbirth, 

94 
Duration  of  life,  277,  278 

EBSTEIN,    on    prolonging    life,    258, 

260 

Ecclesiastes,  on  life,  293 
Edgren,  on  arterial  sclerosis,  247 
Elixirs  of  life,  257 
Emasculation,  by  Skoptsy,  g 
Ephemerids  (figures),  271,  273 

absence   of    instinct    of   preser- 
vation in,  275 

larvae  (figure),  272 

sexual  instincts  of,  36 

swarming  of,  271 
Epicureans,  summum  bonum  of,  6 
Ewald,  on  microbes  in  intestines,  251, 

252 
Eye,  of  man,  imperfections  of,  78 

FABRE,  on  caterpillars,  33 

on  fossorial  wasps,  27,  28,  34 

Faith,  modern  return  to,  222 
Tolstoi's  return  to,  224 
Zola's  attraction  to,  225 

Family  instincts,  108 
love,  295 

Fauvel,  on  natural  death,  280 

Fear,  of  death,  Rousseau  on,  118 
Tokarsky  on,  125 
Tolstoi  on,  122,  123 
in  the  aged,  118,  131 
in  Buddhism,  119 
by  a  Christian  minister,  124 
by  French  writers,  121,  122,  132 
instinctive   nature  of,   127,   128, 

153 
occasional  absence  of,  152 

Feet,  of  man  and  apes,  43 

Fichte,  on  future  life,  176 


Finot,  on  continuity  of  life,  197 

on  fear  of  death,  122,  126,  197 
Flies,  cause  of  death  of,  274 
Flora  of  the  intestines,  248,  249,  251 
Flourens,  on  limits  of  life,  277 
Foetus  of  gibbon,  figure  of,  46 

of  man,  figure  of,  47 
Food,  of  ancestral  man,  74 

instinct  of  choice  of,  75,  76 
Fossorial  wasps,  27,  34 
Future  life,  Cicero  on,  169 

Fichte  on,  176 

Kant  on,  176 

Plato  on,  1 68 

belief  in,  141,  149,  151,  159 

opposed  by  reason,  161,   165,  SU 
Immortality 

GENERAL  paralysis,  symptoms  of,  in 
Gerontology,  science  of  old  age,  297 
Glow-worms,  37 
Goal  of  human  life,  300,  301 
Gods,  of  the  Greeks,  4 

of  the  Orientals,  4 
Goncourt,   E.  de,  quotations  on  fear 

of  death,  121,  132 
Gorillas,  old  age  in,  233 
Greek  art,  5 

philosophy,  5 
Gruenbaum,  on  injection  of  serums, 

Guinea-pigs,  reared  without  microbes, 

249 
Guyau,  on  death,  195,  196;  on  love, 

196 

-     on  religion  and  death,  133 
on  failure  of  science,  222 
on  resignation,  199 

HAECKEL,  on  the  "cellular  soul,"  269 

on  future  life,  221 

on  morality,  107 
Hair,  blanching  of,  242  (figure),  243 

and  disease,  63 

of  embryo,  63 

Hammerling,  on  optimism,  191,  192 
"  Hamlet, ' '  quotation  from,  227 
Hands,  of  man  and  apes,  43 
Happiness,  Hartmann  on,  186 

Mailaender  on,  189 

Meyer-Benfey  on,  198 

meaning  of,  in 
Hartmann,  on  death,  184 

on  immortality,  184 

pessimism  of,  183 

on  progress,  185 

as  a  youthful  pessimist,  1:7 
Hassenstein,   on  childbirths    in    the 
young, 283 

U 


306 


INDEX 


Heape,  on  menstruation,  88 
Hegel,  death  from  cholera,  120 
Heim,  on  feelings  at  death,  126 
Hell  of  Chinese  Buddhists,  149 
Helmholz,  on  the  eye,  78 
Henseler,  on  ages  of  patriarchs,  259 
Hermaphrodhism,  79,  80 
Herminium  monorckis,  figure  of,  26 
Huber,  on  ants,  34 
Hufeland,  on  prolonging  life,  258 
Humanity,  vagueness  of  conception, 

296 

Humboldt,  on  natural  morality,  8 
Hunt,  on  burial  of  the  aged  living, 

152 

Hutcheson,  on  naturalism,  7 
Huxley,  on  origin  of  man,  41 
Hymen,  disharmonies  of,  85 

distinctive  of  human  race,  81,  82 
primitive  function  of,  85,  86 
ritual  destruction  of,  83,  84 

ILLUSION,  Hartmann  on,  183 

Mailaender  on,  188 
Immortality,  Aristotle  on,  169 

Buddha  on,  147 

Hartmann  on,  184 

Meyer-Benfey  on,  198 

Plato  on,  1 68 

Schopenhauer  on,  179,  180,  181 

Seneca  on,  170 

Spinoza  on,  175 

amongst  animals,  270 

of  "  cellular  soul,"  269 

of  protozoa,  264 

of  reproductive  cells,  267 
Inaudi,  the  calculator,  58 
Infanticide,  103,  104 
Infusoria,  conjugation  of,  231 

immortality  of,  263,  264 

reproduction  of,  230 

senile  degeneration  of,  231 
Insects,  compared  with  vertebrates, 
276 

fertilisation  of  plants  by,  21 

senile  degeneration  of,  231 
Instinct  of  death,  281,  282,  283,  298 

of  family,  108 

of  life,  129 

sexual,  283 

of  society,  109 
Intestines,  bacterial  flora  of,  248,  249 

large,  degeneration  of,  70 

arge,  diseases  of,  73,  74 

arge,  excision  of,  70 

large,  function  of,  70,  71,  72 

JEWISH  belief  in  future  life,  142 
ustice,  in  relation  to  humanity,  112 


KANT,  on  future  life,  176 

Kephir,  use  of,  255 

Khema,  legend  on  immortality,  147 

Kidney  ducts,  80 

Koch,  on  microbe  of  tuberculosis,  212 

LACTIC  acid,  arrests  putrefaction,  255 
Lady-birds  and  nectar,  32 
Language,  as  a  social  band,  297 
Lankester,  Ray,  on  centenarians,  259 
Lanugo,  of  human  embryo,  62 
Larvae,  of  ephemerids,  276 
Lecky,  on  natural  morality,  8 
Lejoncourt,  on  centenarians,  280 
Leucocytes  and  phagocytes,  240 
Liberty,  future  limitation  of,  301 
Life,  duration  of,  in  Biblical  times, 
259,  260 

modes  of  lengthening,  257,  258 
Light,  attractive  to  insects,  35 
Linnaeus,  on  origin  of  man,  41 
Lister,  and  antisepsis,  209 
Listera  ovata,  figure  of,  32 
Loeb,  on  natural  death,  266 
Longet,  on  old  age,  234 
Longevity,  in  birds,  232 

and  large  intestine,  252 

in  Old  Testament,  259,  260 
Love,  Guyau  on,  196        v 

spreading  of,  295 
Lubbock,  on  ancestor-worship,  150 

an  optimist,  117 
Luminous  insects,  37 
Luther,  Martin,  on  supernatural 

origin  of  disease,  164 
Luxury,  evils  of,  293,  294,  301 

MACROPHAGS,  definition  of,  240 
functions  of,  240 
in  senile  decay,  241 
Maeterlinck,  on  pessimism,  191 
Mailaender,  on  pessimism,  187,  188 
Malignant  tumours,  science  and,  214 
Mammary  glands,  rudimentary,  298 
Man,  destiny  of,  286 

disharmonies,  and  harmonies  in, 

285 

origin  of,  40,  286 
peculiar  characters  of,  59 
rudimentary  organs  of,  59,  60 
Marinesco,  on  function  of  phagocytes, 

241 

Marriage,  age  at  first,  97 
Christian  views  on,  163 
early,  in  primitive  races,  86,  90 
Martelly,  on  intestinal  putrefaction. 

Materialism,  Biichner  on,  220 
Haeckel  on,  220 


INDEX 


307 


Matriopathy,  6 
May-flies  and  light,  35 
Medicine,  advance  of,  210 
Memory,  late  development  of,  78 
Meniere,  on  bees  and  orchids,  21 
Menstruation,  in  monkeys,  88,  89 

origin  and  significance,  87,  88 

origin  of,  89 

regarded  as  impure,  92 
Merkel,  on  tissue-changes  in  old  age, 

238 

Metamorphoses,  of  ephemerides,  272 
Metchnikoff,  on  blanching  of  hair,  242 

on  senile  atrophy,  238 
Metchnikoff,  Madame,    on    tadpoles 

reared  without  microbes,  249 
Meyer-Benfey,  on  happiness,  198 

on  immortality,  198 
Microbes,  absence  of,  in  ephemerids, 

274 

harmful,  256 

of  the  intestines,  248 

producing  poisons  in  intestines, 

251 
Microphags,  definition  of,  240 

functions  of,  240 

Milk,  fermented  or  soured,  beneficent 
action  of,  255 

human,  282 

secretion  of,  by  males,  298 
Monkeys,  and  choice  of  food,  75 
Morality,  based  on  human  nature,  9 

true  foundation  of,  289 
Mosaic  regulations  on  diet,  162,  163 
Moths  and  light,  35 
Miiller,  Johannes,  on  the  eye,  78 

Hermann,  on  lady-birds,  32 

Max,   on    meaning  of  Nirvana, 

155,  158 
Mutilations  of  the  body,  9,15 

NAEGELI,  on  natural  death,  265 
Natural  death.  302 

cases  of,  278,  279,  280 

in  ephemerids,  27 

Nature,  Marcus  Aurelius  on  life  ac- 
cording to,  173 

and  morality,  early  opinions  on,  3 
Negroes  and  whites,  109 
Nicene  Creed,  compared  with  ances- 
tor-worship, 151 
Nirvana,  Aurelius  and,  175 

Hartmann  on,  186 

Schopenhauer  on,  182 

meaning  of,  155,  156,  157 
Nordau,  on  old  age,  234 

on  optimism,  192  ;  on  pain,  193 
Nuttall  and  Thierfelder,  on  germ-free 
guinea-pigs,  249 


OBSTETRICS,  in  ancient  times,  300 
Old  age,  Longet  on,  234 

Nordau  on,  234 

amelioration  of,  254 

in  birds  and  mammals,  232,  233 

characters  of,  229,  230,  278,  294 

morbidity  of,  244 

scientific  study  of,  228 

serums  in,  245,  246 
Onanism,  35,  95,  96,  99 
Optimism,  Hammerling  on,  191,  192 

Nordau  on,  192 

Optimists  generally  old  men,  117 
Origin  of  man,  due  to  sudden  appear- 
ance of  new  characters,  57,  59 
Orangs,  old  age  in,  233 
Orchids,  and  fertilisation,  19,  20 
Orthobiosis,  the  taste  of  science,  289 
Ostwald,  on  love  of  humanity,  296 
Ova,  immortality  of,  267 

PAIN,  Nordau  on,  193 
Palinge-iiia,  swarming  of,  272 
Pantheism,  of  German  poets,  195 
Paradise,  according  to  the  Talmud, 

J43 

of  Chinese  Buddhists,  149 
Paramecium,   conjugation  of  (figure), 

231 

division  of  (figure),  230 
Parasites,  late  evolution  of,  18 
Parovaria,  80 
Parrots,  paucity  of  bacterial  flora  in, 

253 

Pasteur,  as  founder  of  modern  scien- 
tific medicine,  209 
Pasenadi,    legend    on     immortality, 

*47 

Pathology,  of  old  age,  278 
Patriotism,  295 
Pelop&us,  figure  of,  34 
Penis,  os,  in  man  and  apes,  81 
Personality,  consciousness  of,  160 
Pessimism,  Byron  on,  177 

Hartmann  on,  183 

Maeterlinck  on,  191 

Mailaender  on,  187 

Schopenhauer  on,  177,  178, 179 

and  Buddhism,  176,  177 

and  disease,  206 

and  disharmony,  38 

origin  of,  176 

value  of,  194 

and  youth,  117 
Pettenkofer,  suicide  of,  131 
Pfeffer,  on  chemotaxis  in  cryptogams, 

269 

Pfliiger,  on  prolonging  life,  258 
Pfungst,  on  meaning  ol  Nirvana,  156 


308 


INDEX 


Phagocytes,  functions  of,  239 
inhibited  by  lactic  acid,  255 
and  poisons,  247 
sensibility  of,  240 

Phagocytosis,  in  old  age,  244 
in  senility,  242 

Philosophy,  and  death.  166 

relation  of,  and  religion,  166 
tendency  of,  to  become  religious, 

I75 
Phenol,  production  of  by  microbes, 

251 

Pithecanthropus,  50 
Placenta,  of  man  and  apes,  46 
Plague,  cause  of,  208 
Plato,  and  nobility  of  man,  4 
on  pleasure,  6 

views  on  death,  166,  167,  168 
Pleasure,  views  of  Plato  and  Aristotle 

on,  6 

Plotin,  on  immortality,  175 
Pollinia  of  orchids,  21 
Politicians,  incapacity  of  young,  295 
Politics,   compared  with  savage  ob- 
stetrics, 300 

Post-mortem  examinations,|246,  289 
Pregnancy,  avoidance  of,  101 
Progress,  Hartmann  on,  185 
Spencer  on,  291 
not  uniform,  18 
Protection,     means     for,      amongst 

animals,  114 
Protozoa,  absence  of  death,  263 

sensibility  of,  268 
Purgatory,  in  Taoism,  146 
Putrefaction,    in   large  intestine,  73, 
254 

RABBITS,   and  destruction  of  young, 

34,  37 

Reformation,  14 
Regeneration,  in  brain,  27? 

in  cells,  271 

in  vertebrates,  270 
Religion,  and  diet,  163 

and  disease,  205 

and  future  life,  150 

and  science,  3 

and  sexuality,  163 

Tolstoi's  return  to,  223 
Renal    tubule,    invasion    of   macro- 

phags  (figure),  241 
Renan,  on  death,  195 

on  Jewish  belief  in  future  life, 
142,  143 

on  Marcus  Aurelius,  174 
Renaissance,  art  of,  14 
Reproduction,  not  cause  of  death  in 
ephemerids,  275 


Reproductive  organs,  79 
Resignation,  in  Buddhism,  159 

Guyau  on,  199 

Hartmann's  system  of,  187 

Marcus  Aurelius  on,  174 
Resurrection,  primitive  belief  in,  140 
Reville,  on  Chinese  belief  in  immor- 
tality, 145,  146 
Rhisotrogus  and  Hght,  36 
Richet,  on  failure  of  science,  222 
Rousseau,  on  age  and  love  of  life,  117 

on  failure  of  science,  216 

on  fear  of  death,  118 
Rovighi,  on  utility  of  milk  diet,  255 
Riickert,  on  death,  195 
Rudimentary  organs,  in  man,  59,  60 

SACRIFICE,  at  burials,  140,  141 
Saint-Foix,  on  sacrifice  of  horses,  141 
St.  Matthew,  on  celibacy,  12 
Savage,  on  old  age  in  apes,  233 

on  social  instincts  of  apes,  105 
Schiller,  on  death,  195 
Schopenhauer,  and  cholera,  120 

on  death,  121,  179,  288 

on  immortality,  179 

pessimism  of,  117,  177,  178,  179, 

207 
Schottelius,  on  rearing  of  germ-free 

chicks,  249 
Science,  advance  of,  286 

Bacon  on,  204 

destroys  faith,  226 

failure  of,  215,  216,  217,  218,222, 
223 

and  immortality,  287 

and  old  age,  228 

and  pessimism,  207,  286 
Sclerosis  of  arteries,  248 

in  old  age,  236,  237,  243,  244 

due  to  poisons,  247 
Scotch  clergy  on  man,  12 
Seidlitz,  on  natural  morality,  8 
Selenka,  on  foetus  of  man  and  ape,  47 
Self-preservation,  113,  275 
Seneca,  on  death,  171 

on  human  existence,  171 

on  immortality,  170 

on  nature  as  a  guide,  7,  10 
Senile  decay    action  of  macrophags, 
241 

characters  of,  235,  238,  239 

importance  of  phagocytes  in,  241 
Sensibility,  specific,  of  white   blood 

corpuscles,  160 

Serum,  alteration  of  properties,  51 
anti-diphtheritic,  211 
properties  of,  as  guide  to  amnity; 


INDEX 


309 


Serums,  use  of  in  old  age,  245,  246 
Sexuality,  early  ^appearance  of,  94,  95 
in  the  aged ,'98 
disharmonies  of,  too 
Sexual  cells,  immortality  of,  268 

soul  of:  268 
Shakespeare,  sorrow  and  knowledge, 

227 

Shaving,  regarded  as  degrading,  5 
Skeleton,  of  man  and  apes,  43 
Skin,  of  man,  62 
Skoptsy,  and  emasculation,  9 
Social  instincts,  105,  109,  113 
Societies,  of  insects,  294 
Socrates,  and  death,  166,  167 
Solidarity,  of  men,  297 
Solomon,     sorrow    and    knowledge, 

226 

Soul  of  cells,  Haeckel  on,  269 
of  protozoa,  268 
of  sexual  cells,  268 
Soured  milk,  benefits  of,  255 
Spencer,  H.,  on  belief  in  resurrection, 

140 

on  natural  morality,  9 
on  progress,  291 
Spermatozoa,  immortality  of,  267 

in  old  men,  97 

Spinoza,  on  immortality,  175 
Sterility,  in  human  life,  295 

in  social  insects,  294 
Stoics,  summum  bonum  of,  6 

on  future  life,  169 
Strassburger,    on    microbes    of    the 

intestines,  248 
Suicide,  increase  of,  4,      i 
of  the  old,  131 
Schopenhauer,    Hartmann,    and 

Mailaender  on,  190 
Supernaturalism,  modern  craving  for, 

222 

Survival  after  death,  widespread  be- 
lief in,  149 

Sutherland,  on  morality  of  expropria- 
tion, 109,  296 

Syphilis,  absence  of  reference  to  in 
Bible,  260 

resistance  to  effects  of,  256 
and  sclerosis,  247 

TADPOLES,  reared  without  microbes, 

249 

Taine,  on  Christian  art,  14 
Tait,  Lawson,  on  cysts,  80 
Talmud,  on  paradise,  143 
Taoism,  and  immortality,  146 
Teeth,  disharmonies  of,  63,  64 

of  man  and  apes,  41 

wisdom,  64 


Telepathy,  no   argument   for  future 

life,  161 

Tetanus,  microbes  of,  256 
Thanatology,  science  of  death,  297    •-' 
Thierfelder,  and  Nuttall,  on  germ-free 

guinea-pigs,  249 

Tissier,  on  intestinal  putrefaction,  255 
Tokarsky,  on  fear  of  death,  125,  279 
Tolstoi,  on  fear  of  death,  115,  122,299 
on  failure  of  science,  217,  223 
return  to  religion,  223,  224 
Tombs,  burial  of  weapons  and  imple- 
ments, 139 

Transfusion  of  blood-serum,  51 
Transmigration  of  souls,  in  Buddhism, 

J57 

of  souls,  Jewish  belief  in,  144 
Trees,  death  of,  265 
Tuberculosis.imodern  science  and,  212 
Tylor,  on  ancestor-worship,  150 
on  animism,  138 

UHLENHUTH,  on  injection  of  serums, 
53 

VANILLA,  cultivation  of,  19 

fertilisation  of,  20 
Vaccination,  301 
Vermiform   appendage   and  disease, 

66,68 

of  man  and  apes,  44 
Virginity,  historical   importance  of, 
83.84 

WAITZ-GERLAND,  on  primitive  cus- 
toms, 139 

Weapons,  burial  with  dead,  139 
Weismann,  on  origin  of  death,  266 

on  immortality  of  protozoa,  264 
Wiedersheim,  on  human  characters, 

1  to  live,  Mailaender  on,  189 

Schopenhauer  on, 182 
Wisdom  teeth,  degeneration  of,  64,  65 
Women,  views  of  Buddha  on,  9 
Wounds,  modern  success  in  healing 

Of,  210 

XENOCRATES,  5 

YOUTH,  absence  of  fear  of  death,  116, 
117 

and  excesses,  116 
ideals  of,  263 
and  pessimism,  117 

ZOLA,  on  death,  225 

on  fear  of  death,  121 
Zulu,  ancestor-worship,  151 


wfg 


Jt  Selection  from  the 
Catalogue  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Complete   Catalogues  sent 
on  application 


"  Remarkable  for  its  simple  language  and  clear 
style,  ,  .  ,  Bears  the  stamp  of  a  production  of 
an  erudite  scientist  and  a  deep  thinker," — Science. 


TKe   Prolongation  of 
Life 

Optimistic     Essays 

By  Elie  MetcHniKoff 
Author  of  "The  Mature  of  Man,"  etc. 

8vo.    Price,  $2.50  net 

M.  Elie  Metchnikoff  is  one  of  those  rare  scientists  who 
have  found  a  way  to  lay  hold  of  and  present  to  the  world  in 
untechnical  phraseology,  intelligible  to  the  lay  mind,  such 
results  of  his  researches  as  are  of  universal  interest  and  go 
straight  home  to  the  bosoms  and  business  of  intelligent  men. 
The  Nature  of  Man,  by  the  same  author,  was  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  books,  at  once  popular,  and  scientific,  which  have 
appeared  for  decades.  The  book  here  in  question  will  stand 
beside  it  as  a  worthy  companion  volume.  It  is  satisfactory 
to  report  that,  absorbed  as  Metchnikoff  is  in  "  material  " 
problems,  and  deep  as  he  is  in  the  mysteries  of  the  physical 
universe,  these  essays  show  him  to  be  an  optimist  who  speaks 
with  no  uncertain  voice. 

A  great  deal  of  attention  is  given  in  The  Prolongation  of 
Human  Life  to  the  subject  of  old  age  and  its  causes,  with 
scientific  observations  of  special  cases  among  human  beings 
and  the  lower  animals.  The  author  suggests  means  of  pro- 
longing life  and  health,  while  contemplating  natural  death 
with  serenity,  and  finding  that  agreeable  sensations  accompany 
its  approach.  Beyond  a  certain  point  it  seems  to  him  a  dis- 
advantage to  prolong  life.  Passing  on  from  these  mortuary 
lucubrations,  the  essays  concern  themselves  with  psychological 
matters,  with  optimism  and  pessimism  and  in  general  with 
questions  of  science  and  morals.  The  temperaments  of  certain 
great  men  are  analyzed  in  studies  that  have  for  their  subjects 
respectively  Byron,  Leopardi,  Schopenhauer,  and  Goethe.  In 
the  preface  the  author  says  that  he  has  avoided,  as  far  as 
possible,  repeating  points  which  have  been  sufficiently  treated 
in  The  Nature  of  Man. 


G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 


"A  scientific  monograph  of  the  first  order." 


Immunity  in  Infective 
Diseases 

By  Elie  Metchnikoff 

Professor  at  the  Pasteur  Institute 

Author  of  "The  Nature  of  Man,  "  etc. 

Translated  by  Francis  Q.  Binnie 

8vo.     Illustrated.     Net, 


"  It  would  be  impertinent  to  commend  his  know- 
ledge of  the  subject,  but  it  is  permissible  to  remark 
that  he  here  shows  himself  an  expounder  of  the 
first  order.  His  marshalling  of  the  multitudinous 
details  is  masterly  and  so  lucid  that  any  one  who 
knows  the  meaning  of  the  words  can  follow  it  with 
ease.  And  these  qualities  are  enhanced  by  the  true 
scientific  spirit  and  scrupulous  fairness  with  which 
arguments  are  handled.  The  present  position,  as 
here  stated,  is  that  resistance  to  disease  is  effected 
both  by  the  white  cells  and  by  various  substances  in 
the  fluids,  but  that  the  latter  are  also  produced  by  the 
cells.  Since  the  whole  process  is  a  vital  one  and 
the  cells  are  the  vital  element  the  theory  seems  a 
priori  sound  if  not  inevitable.  "  —  London  Times. 


Q.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

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statement  of  an  individual  can  be  so  regarded. 

17.—  The  Prolongation  of  Life.  Optimistic  Essays.  By  £LIE  METCH- 
NIKOFF,  Sub-Director  of  the  Pasteur  Institute.  Author  of  "  The 
Natureof  Man,''  etc.  8°.  Illustrated.  Net,  $2.50.  (By  mail,  $2.70.) 

In  his  new  work  Professor  Metchnikoff  expounds  at  greater  length,  in  the  light  of 
additional  knowledge  gained  in  the  last  few  years,  his  main  thesis  that  human  life  is  not 
only  unnaturally  short  but  unnaturally  burdened  with  physical  and  mental  disabilities. 
He  analyzes  the  causes  of  these  disharmonies  and  explains  his  reasons  for  hoping  that 
they  may  be  counteracted  by  a  rational  hygiene. 

18.—  The  Solar  System.  A  Study  of  Recent  Observations.  By  Prof. 
CHARLES  LANE  POOR,  Professor  of  Astronomy  in  Columbia  University. 
8°.  Illustrated.  Net,  $2.00. 

The  subject  is  presented  in  untechnical  language  and  without  the  use  of  mathematics. 
Professor  Poor  shows  by  what  steps  the  precise  knowledge  of  to-day  has  been  reached  and 
explains  the  marvellous  results  of  modern  methods  and  modern  observations. 

19.—  Climate—  Considered  Especially  in  Relation  to  Man.  By  ROBERT 
DECOURCY  WARD,  Assistant  Professor  of  Climatology  in  Harvard 
University.  8°.  Illustrated.  Net,  §2.00. 

This  volume  is  intended  for  persons  who  have  not  had  special  training  in  the  tech- 
nicalities of  climatology.  Climate  covers  a  wholly  different  field  from  that  included  in 
the  meteorological  text-books.  It  handles  broad  questions  of  climate  in  a  way  which  has 
not  been  attempted  in  a  single  volume.  The  needs  of  the  teacher  and  student  have  been 
kept  constantly  in  mind. 

20.  —  Heredity.  By  J.  ARTHUR  THOMSON,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Natural 
History  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen  ;  Author  of  "The  Science  of 
Life,"  etc.  8°.  Illustrated.  Net,  $3.50. 

The  aim  of  this  work  is  to  expound,  in  a  simple  manner,  the  facts  of  heredity  and 
inheritance  as  at  present  known,  the  general  conclusions  which  have  been  securely 
established,  and  the  more  important  theories  which  have  been  formulated. 

21.—  Age,  Growth,  and  Death.  By  CHARLES  S.  MINOT,  James  Still- 
man  Professor  of  Comparative  Anatomy  in  Harvard  University, 
President  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  and  Author  of 
"  Human  Embryology,"  "  A  Laboratory  Text-book  of  Embryology," 
etc.  8°.  Illustrated. 

This  volume  deals  with  some  of  the  fundamental  problems  of  biology,  and  presents 
a  series  of  views  (the  results  of  nearly  thirty  years  of  study),  which  the  author  h-is 
correlated  for  the  first  time  in  systematic  form. 


22.— The  Interpretation  of  Nature.  By  C.  LLOYD  MORGAN,  LL.D., 
F.R.S.  Crown  8vo.  Net,  $1.25. 

Dr.  Morgan  seeks  to  prove  that  a  belief  in  purpose  as  the  causal  reality  of  which 
nature  is  an  expression  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  full  and  whole-hearted  acceptance  of 
the  explanations  of  naturalism. 

23— Mosquito  Life.  The  Habits  and  Life  Cycles  of  the  Known  Mos- 
quitoes of  the  United  States  ;  Methods  for  their  Control  ;  and  Keys  for 
Easy  Identification  of  the  Species  in  their  various  Stages.  An  account 
based  on  the  Investigation  of  the  Late  James  William  Uupree,  Surgeon- 
General  of  Louisiana,  and  upon  the  original  observations  by  the  Writer. 
By  EVELYN  GROESBEECK  MITCHELL,  A.B.,  M.S.  With  64  Illustra- 
tions. Crown  8vo.  Net,  $2.00. 

This  volume  has  been  designed  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  constantly  increasing 
number  of  students  for  a  work  presenting  in  compact  form  the  essential  facts  so  far  made 
known  by  scientific  investigation  in  regard  to  the  different  phases  of  this,  as  is  now  con- 
ceded, importunt  and  highly  interesting  subject.  While  aiming  to  keep  within  reasonable 
bounds,  that  it  may  be  used  for  work  in  the  field  and  in  the  laboratory,  no  portion  of  the 
work  has  been  slighted,  or  fundamental  information  omitted,  in  the  endeavor  to  carry 
this  plan  into  effect. 

24. — Thinking,  Feeling,  Doing.  An  Introduction  to  Mental  Science. 
By  E.  W.  SCRIPTURE,  1'h.D.,  M.D.,  Assistant  Neurologist  Columbia 
University,  formerly  Director  of  the  Psychological  Laboratory  at  Yale 
University.  iS\)  Illustrations.  2d  Edition,  Revised  and  Enlarged. 
Crown  Svo.  Net,  $1.75. 

"  The  chapters  on  Time  and  Action,  Reaction  Time,  Thinking  Time,  Rhythmic  Action, 
and  Power  and  Will  are  most  interesting.  This  book  should  be  carefully  read  by  every 
one  who  desires  to  be  familiar  with  the  advances  made  in  the  study  of  the  mind,  which 
advances,  in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  have  been  quite  as  striking  and  epoch  making  as 
the  strides  made  in  the  more  material  lines  of  knowledge." — Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Ass'n, 
Feb.  22,  1908.  . 

/«  preparation: 

The  Invisible  Spectrum.  By  Professor  C.  E.  MENDENHALL,  University 
of  Wisconsin. 

The  Physiology  and  Hygiene  of  Exercise.  By  Dr.  G.  L.  MEYLAN, 
Columbia  University. 

Other  -volumes  to  be  announced  later. 


53647 


DATE  DUE 


JUL 

81980 

RECD  Ju 

.  7      1930 

CAYLORD 

PRINT  ED  IN  U.S.A. 

A    001  191  118     7 


